Doppelganger
by Fish Stick Friday
Summary: When a paranoid schizophrenic responsible for the death of his father and the mysterious disappearance of his brother finds who he thinks is his brother but is actually Logan after ten long years, he kidnaps him, fully intent on making him suffer.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: From the author who brought you stories such as "Big Time Disaster," "Brotherly Love," "My Best Friend Is a Vampire," "Til I Forget About You," "Big Time Sick," and "Three Little Words," comes "Doppelganger." Viewer discretion is advised as it does include Logan torture. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush. By the time you finish reading this story, no, once you start reading this story, you will be insanely glad about that.**

**Doppelganger**

Logan was driving the Big Time Rush Mobile back to The Palm Woods. Mondays through Fridays, he had a tutoring job at a community college in addition to his workload at school and his band duties. Logan was taking the back roads home in an effort to avoid the infamous L.A. traffic. Sure, that meant that he had to drive in the boonies, but it was worth it; it made the drive home _much_ quicker.

Logan was about halfway there when he heard a popping sound that could only mean one thing; he had acquired a flat tire. He pulled off the side of the road, out of the way of the nonexistent traffic. He turned off the ignition, before clambering out of the vehicle, not even bothering with opening the door. It didn't take him long to spot the flat on the front driver's side.

"Seriously…" Logan muttered under his breath as he walked towards the trunk.

He opened the trunk, and of course with Logan being Logan, there was a spare tire inside. However, first, Logan thought it would be a good idea to call Mrs. Knight to let her know that he might be home a little late. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his cell phone. After dialing "M" for "Mommy," on his speed dial, the phone was ringing.

Back at The Palm Woods, Mrs. Knight was in the middle of making dinner when she heard her cell ringing. She walked over to the counter where it was setting, and retrieved it. She looked at the caller ID, and saw that Logan was calling her. She didn't think much of it; After all, Logan _always_ called her when he was on his way home or when he knew that he was going to be a little late. She answered the phone, holding it up to her ear.

"Hey Logan," Mrs. Knight greeted.

Logan heard a car pull off the side of the road behind him. He just automatically assumed that the person saw that he had a flat, and came over to lend a helping hand. However, he was soon in for a rude awakening. Before he could even answer Mama Knight, Logan felt a syringe being plunged into the delicate skin of his neck. He instantly felt himself in freefall. The next thing he knew, he was flat on his back looking up at the blue sky. His cell phone was lying beside him, having fallen out of his hands.

"Hello?" Mrs. Knight said into her cell phone.

No answer. Mrs. Knight was starting to get a little worried. It wasn't like Logan to prank call people, _especially_ her. The entire eight years she had known Logan, he had always treated her with nothing but the utmost respect. Since the boys had been out in L.A., she had become like a second mom to not only Logan, but Carlos and James as well.

"Logan? Are you there?" Mrs. Knight asked.

Still no answer. A knot had started to form in her stomach. Her maternal instincts were kicked into overdrive as she began to think of all the worst case scenarios. What if Logan was hurt? What if he was in trouble? What if he was…_dying_? Mrs. Knight pictured Logan trapped inside an overturned car, his face streaked with blood, twisted pieces of metal impaling him, vehicle ablaze as he desperately tried to get a hold of her. She shook her head, clearing those horrible thoughts. No, that wasn't it at all. She was merely overreacting.

Logan was barely cognizant of the fact that he was now being dragged by his ankle. Tiny pebbles dug into his dorsal side, causing him to clench his teeth in pain. He wanted to fight, to resist, to do _something_, but he just didn't have the energy to; his body just didn't want to cooperate with him like that.

Mrs. Knight's eyes started to pool with tears. "Logan, sweetie, you have to talk to me. What's wrong?" she asked. Once more, there was no answer. She pulled her cell back from her face so that she could get a better look at the screen. Maybe the call had accidentally been dropped or something. After looking at the screen, and seeing that the timer was still going, recording the duration of their conversation, Mrs. Knight's heart sank even more.

Carlos entered the kitchen, nose in the air, sniffing. He took a seat at one of the bar stools. "Something smells good, Mama Knight! What is it? More importantly, when will it be ready?" he asked. That's when he noticed that Mrs. Knight was crying. "Hey, what's the matter?"

The word "Logan" seemed to be stuck in her throat. Her tears fell unchecked. She wasn't sure what to do; staying on the phone only to hear more of Logan not answering her would only send her on even more of a downward spiral. However, she couldn't just hang up on Logan, could she? What if he couldn't answer _now_, but he could _later_? If that was the case, she didn't want to drop the call.

Carlos scrambled off the bar stool, and bolted towards the bedroom that Kendall and Logan shared with one another. On his way, he called out, "Kendall, something's wrong with your mom!"

The next thing Logan knew, whoever it was that was doing this to him had stuffed him inside the trunk of a car. Words percolated on the tip of his tongue as he desperately wanted to cry out in protest, but they never were able to escape his lips. Soon, the trunk was slammed shut, and he was surrounded by nothing but darkness.

Kendall came rushing into the kitchen as soon as he had heard Carlos. He was in such a hurry that he nearly bowled over Carlos who was moving equally as fast. Kendall wasn't the only one who heard Carlos though; James and Katie were right behind him.

Kendall scanned the kitchen for his mom as soon as he got there. He quickly found her frozen in terror, tears streaming down her face. Remarkably, she was somehow still managing to hold her phone against her face. Kendall was quickly at her side.

"Mom, what is it? What's wrong?" he asked, panic in his voice.

Kendall had to physically pry his mom's cell phone from her hand. He glanced at the screen to see who she was even talking to. He had been fully prepared to go off on whoever it was that was bothering his mother, but when he saw that Logan was on the other end, his pent up rage dissipated. He held the phone to his ear.

"Logan? Is everything okay, buddy?" Kendall asked.

The only thing he could hear on the other end was the sound of rubber tires on gravel. Based on how the sound grew fainter and fainter, Kendall gathered that the sound he heard was that of a car driving away.

A plethora of questions raced through Kendall's mind. Why wasn't Logan answering? Why had he called in the first place? Was he in some sort of trouble? Was he in the car that apparently was driving away? Was the car that was driving away Logan's car?

Mrs. Knight was barely aware of the fact that Katie was at her side as well, a hand resting on the small of her back. Katie wasn't much of a crier. In fact, she was remarkably emotionally tough for a girl her age. Seeing that something was apparently wrong with her mom, seeing how unreachable she was, Katie's resolve started to weaken. She blinked back the impending tears. She wouldn't allow herself to cry. She needed to stay strong for her mother.

"Mom, you're starting to scare me!" Katie remarked, grabbing her mother's arm, and shaking it.

"What's going on? What's Logan saying?" James asked frantically.

Kendall knew that this was bringing out the same protective instincts in James that it was bringing out in himself. Kendall would be surprised if the same thing couldn't be said of Carlos. Though Kendall and James were more of the protectors of the group, Carlos wasn't just going to sit by and let harm come to any of his friends either.

"He's not answering," Kendall reported.

"What do you mean he's not answering? Give me that," Carlos said as Kendall passed the phone to Carlos.

Carlos' bottom lip was quivering. He was on the verge of tears himself. Deep down, he realized that Logan couldn't possibly be playing some sick sort of joke on them, but that didn't stop Carlos from hoping that was the case anyways. Carlos found it was much easier to be angry at Logan than terrified for him.

"Okay, Logan, quit messing around! This isn't funny anymore!" Carlos reprimanded. Then, he completely broke down, and he couldn't keep up his charade any longer. "You have to be okay, Logie! You just _have_ to!"

James took the phone out of Carlos' hands as he walked over to Carlos. The shorter boy buried his face in James' chest as he wept into the taller boy's lucky white v-neck. James held the phone to his ear now. With his other arm, James held a sobbing Carlos.

"Logie, if you're hurt or in trouble, you have to let us know. You need to tell us. We're all starting to get really worried here," James said before looking at the time on the microwave. "You should have been home fifteen minutes ago."

Just as was the case with Mrs. Knight, Kendall, and Carlos, James received no response from Logan. James knew that this wasn't some sort of practical joke. Logan wouldn't take a practical joke this far. James had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that something had gone terribly wrong.

XXXXX

Logan woke up to the feeling of slushy, ice cold water saturating him from head to toe. In no time at all, his teeth were chattering, and his body was shivering. Logan soon found that he was incapable of locomotion. He was quickly aware that he had been duct taped to a wooden chair; strips of the adhesive bound both his ankles and his wrists. He was held firmly in place by his restraints as duct tape around his torso kept him captive.

Logan desperately tried to remember what happened and how he ended up here. All he recalled was getting a flat tire and calling Mrs. Knight, but that was the last thing he remembered. The next thing he knew, he was getting drenched with frigid water.

"Help!" Logan cried out.

Then Logan saw who he could only assume was his kidnapper. He was a man in his late twenties, possibly early thirties. He had a somewhat pudgy build. His hair was a fiery red and pulled back into a ponytail. Freckles adorned his round face, and thick glasses framed his dark brown eyes.

"You thought you could escape me, but I found you," Logan's captor said in a deep, booming voice.

"What are you talking about? I don't even know you!" Logan replied, fear creeping into his voice.

Logan's kidnapper circled around Logan, drawing nearer with every lap. Soon, he was towering over a terrified Logan. The teenager saw that this guy was even taller than James. He could feel his captor's hot, foul-smelling breath on his face. He could see his kidnapper's yellowing teeth. Logan recoiled in disgust.

"Liar!" the kidnapper roared, slapping the boy with one of his meaty paws.

Logan's face felt like it was on fire as his head was rocked to the side. His kidnapper sure wasn't pulling any punches. Logan wanted to do nothing more but massage his newly sore cheek, but given his current predicament, he couldn't even do that.

"Do you know how long I've been looking for you? And now I've finally found you," Logan's abductor said matter-of-factly.

The Big Time Brain wasn't quite sure what to make of that last statement. Was this some obsessed stalker fan he was dealing with? Or maybe this guy was some sort of pedophile. A chill traveled up and down Logan's spine as he wondered what his kidnapper would do with him now that he found him.

"Please let me go! People are probably worried sick about me. Whatever I did to upset you, I really am sorry!" Logan said.

Logan's thoughts drifted to his best friends: Kendall, Carlos, and James. Did they know he was missing? Were they looking for him? Were they worried about him? Would he ever see them again? Logan's eyes started to get moist at the prospect of never seeing them again. What if they never found him? Or what if by the time they found him it was too late?

His kidnapper saw that he was crying, and scoffed obnoxiously.

"I see you're still a baby! You're pathetic!" Logan's abductor spat, saliva misting the teenager in the face.

There it was again. _Still_? Why was this guy acting like he has known him for quite some time? Logan could've sworn that he had never seen this guy before in his life. The worst part was, Logan couldn't even wipe the spit off his face. All he could do was let it slowly trickle down.

"You don't even remember what you did to me! Unbelievable! I've been on the run for the last decade because of _you_!" Logan's captor said menacingly.

Logan blinked his eyes in confusion. Whoever this guy was, he claimed to have known Logan for ten years, but that would mean he has known Logan since he was what, six or seven years old? That would have been before Logan even moved to Minnesota and met Kendall, Carlos, and James. He still didn't look familiar though.

"What do you have all over your face? We better get you cleaned up before Father sees you like this," the kidnapper said, his tone of voice suddenly gentle.

He pulled out a tissue and started to wipe the spit off Logan's face, the teenager flinching from the contact. There was something different about his kidnapper. Not only was his voice kinder, but even his touch was tender.

Confused couldn't even begin to describe how Logan felt about his kidnapper. As weird as it sounded, it was almost like he was dealing with two entirely different people: one bitter, vindictive, and hell bent on revenge and the other kind, gentle, and caring. The only problem was that Logan never knew which one he would be dealing with.

"Everything's gonna be okay. Your brother's here now," Logan's kidnapper said.

Logan's blood ran cold. This guy was delusional, not to mention a nutcase. Logan didn't have any siblings, least of all a brother. Didn't this guy realize that he was the one who kidnapped him and tied him up in the first place?

"You're not my brother! I don't even have a brother!" Logan commented.

He quickly realized the error of his ways. There was a sudden shift in his kidnapper's demeanor. His posture suddenly became stiff and rigid. His eyes were ablaze with fury. He unleashed a withering gaze at Logan that had him cowering in fear.

"You would think that, wouldn't you, _Lucas_?" his captor remarked. "Why is it that you get _everything_, and I get _nothing_? You're the one with the good looks! You're the one with the brains! You're Father's favorite! What about _me_?"

The next thing Logan knew, he was toppling backwards, his kidnapper upending the chair he was sitting in. Logan could do nothing but brace himself for the inevitable impact. He couldn't even break his fall. The back of his skull collided with the cement floor with a jarring impact. Logan noticed a warm stickiness seem to emanate from the back of his head.

"I got rid of our old man, so don't think for one second that I can't get rid of you too!" the kidnapper threatened.

Logan gulped nervously. His vision was blurred around the edges. His head was throbbing, and no doubt bleeding from the fall. His clothes were sopping wet, and he was still shivering. Once more, he thought of his best friends.

"Please find me, you guys! I need you! I'm scared!" Logan uttered in a voice marginally louder than a whisper.

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: The first chapter was nothing compared to what I have in store for Logan over the course of this story, so if you read the first chapter and thought to yourself, "This isn't so bad," just you wait…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush. Something about I inflict too much harm on the boys. **

**Doppelganger**

"Wake up!" a voice commanded. "I said wake up!"

Logan groggily opened his eyes. He noticed a few things all at once. First of all, someone, who Logan remembered was his kidnapper, was sitting with his face mere inches away, watching him. Secondly, Logan was fully aware of a cramp in his neck. Did he expect any different? He slept while strapped to a chair after all. Thirdly, as much as he wished otherwise, this wasn't all some awful nightmare; this was _very_ real.

"What's my name, Lucas?" his kidnapper roared.

Logan had learned from his previous mistake. Whoever this guy was, whatever he wanted with him, he could call Logan whatever he wanted. Logan learned the hard way that objecting only brought him pain. He wasn't some sort of masochist.

"I asked you a question! Don't make me repeat myself!" Logan's captor warned.

The frightened teenager searched through the deepest recesses of his mind, trying to put a name to the face. That was the thing though; Logan couldn't even place the face. He had never seen this person before he was kidnapped by him. It wasn't like the face was familiar, but he just forgot the person's name. The face _wasn't_ familiar, and he didn't even _know_ this person!

"I don't know!" Logan cried out.

"Wrong answer!" his kidnapper replied.

Logan watched with apprehension as his captor walked over to a work bench, and opened up a big red metal toolbox. He could do nothing while his kidnapper rummaged through the contents of said toolbox. Finally, he held a pair of pliers up in the air. Logan's eyes widened, and he swallowed a lump that was beginning to form in his throat.

"No! Stop! What are you going to do with those?" Logan frantically screamed.

Logan futilely squirmed against his restraints as his captor drew ever nearer. His struggle became more desperate the closer his kidnapper got. All the blood drained from Logan's face. He was pretty much helpless.

"Just tell me my name, little bro, and I'll stop," Logan's kidnapper said perfectly calm.

Tears poured from Logan's eyes. Didn't this guy realize what an impossible situation he was putting Logan in? He had no recollection of this guy. For all intents and purposes, this guy was a stranger to Logan. Sure, he claimed he was Logan's brother, but Logan didn't have any siblings; he was an only child. How was he supposed to know the name of a veritable stranger? He was smart, but not psychic!

Logan let out a bloodcurdling scream as his kidnapper used the pliers to pry off one of Logan's fingernails.

XXXXX

"Anything, Kelly?" Kendall asked, his eyebrows knitted together.

Kelly's eyes were glued to the computer screen as she was conducting a trace on Logan's cell phone. Gustavo thought it was pretty suspicious that Kelly knew how to do that in the first place. There was no telling whether or not she's tried that with him before too. Really though, he wouldn't put it past her because how else would she know how to do that? Kendall coming to her was pretty…convenient…

"What's taking so long?" James yelled, pounding his fist on the top of Gustavo's desk.

None of them had gotten any sleep last night. They were too worried about Logan to sleep. They stayed up all night huddled around the kitchen table, waiting to hear from Logan. Not once did they drop the call, even after all this time. They may have nodded off for a bit, but by no means did any of them get a full night's sleep.

"James, there's no need to yell at Kelly. She's doing her best," Carlos commented.

Before James could snap at Carlos too, Kelly's face lit up with excitement as she pointed at the computer screen.

"There! I found him!" she exclaimed.

They didn't see anything that they didn't already know. Logan had been on his way back to The Palm Woods when something happened to him. Apparently, he was on some back road, but this too wasn't much of a surprise. Everyone knew that Logan liked to take the back roads so he didn't have to deal with the L.A. traffic.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Kendall instructed.

As Kendall, James, and Carlos raced out of Rocque Records, Kendall couldn't help but be skeptical. He suspected that they would only find Logan's cell phone, but not Logan because why would Logan remain completely stationary? If he was where his cell phone was, why didn't he say anything to anyone? However, it didn't stop Kendall from hoping that he was wrong.

XXXXX

Logan's anguished cries filled the room. There seemed to be no end to the blood that was flowing from the wound on Logan's left thumb. Not only his thumb, but his whole hand was completely red with blood in no time at all. Logan couldn't get his hand to stop shaking. His fingernail lay discarded on the floor beneath the chair he was strapped to.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Logan wailed.

His captor crouched down on the ground so that he could menacingly look Logan in the face as he spoke to him. Logan tried to avert his gaze, but his kidnapper roughly grabbed hold of his chin, and firmly held his face.

"Sweet, innocent, naïve Lucas," his captor said sarcastically. "Ha! Yeah right! You weren't so innocent when you ratted me out to the police, were you? Me! Your own brother!"

Logan had no idea what this guy was even talking about, but then again, he had come to expect that from him.

"I got to hand it to you though, little bro; you _almost_ escaped me. Almost! Changing your name, moving to Minnesota, moving to L.A., joining a boy band. You probably thought you were pretty clever, didn't you?" Logan's captor asked.

Logan didn't answer right away, and he soon regretted it.

"Didn't you?" Logan's kidnapper shouted, backhanding Logan across the face, exacerbating the cramp in his neck he woke up with.

Logan soon saw that a switch was flipped. His kidnapper tenderly grabbed his face, his fingers lightly ghosting over the welt that was starting to form just beneath Logan's eye.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it, Lucas! Are you okay? Don't tell Father about this, okay? He won't be too happy with either of us," his captor stated.

Logan was thoroughly confuzzled. This guy seemingly had no concept of reality. One second he would talk about "their" dad like he was still alive, and the next he would remind Logan of how he murdered "their" father.

Logan's stomach growled.

"You must be hungry. Why didn't you say something sooner, little bro? I'll go fetch you some food," Logan's kidnapper said, before leaving the room.

XXXXX

Kendall, James, and Carlos saw the Big Time Rush Mobile on the side of the road. They pulled off the side of the road, and got out of the vehicle. They didn't see any sign of Logan anywhere.

"Look. The keys are still in the ignition," James said.

Kendall followed James' gaze to the driver's side of the Big Time Rush Mobile. Sure enough, the keys were in the ignition. It made no sense though. Why would Logan do that? It was pretty irresponsible, and Logan was far from irresponsible.

"Guys! I found Logan's cell phone!" Carlos called out.

Kendall and James quickly rushed over to Carlos' position where he was kneeling on the ground before Logan's smart phone. Now more than ever Kendall believed that something was amiss here. Logan wouldn't just leave his cell phone lying around. Something bad must have happened to him. What other explanation was there?

Kendall let out a primal scream so loud that it startled both James and Carlos. He stalked off to the Big Time Rush Mobile before punching a hole through the windshield.

"Damn it!" Kendall hollered.

"Kendall, your hand!" Carlos exclaimed.

Blood seeped between Kendall's knuckles. Shards of glass had embedded themselves in Kendall's hand. However, Kendall was too worked up to feel anything. His nostrils flared, and his face was red.

"Who cares about my hand, Carlos?" Kendall snapped. "Logan's missing! Some sick freak took him! I should never have let this happen!"

"Kendall, there's no way you could have…" James started to say.

"I don't want to hear it, James!"

Kendall wasn't just the unofficial leader of the group; he was also the unofficial protector of the group. He was fiercely protective of his friends, but none more than Logan. He couldn't help but feel like he had failed Logan.

"Who would do this? How could they do it to Logan of all people?" Carlos asked, trying to keep his tears at bay.

Kendall and James had no answers for Carlos. In fact, they were wondering the same things themselves.

XXXXX

Logan was brought a sleeve of saltine crackers and a glass of tap water. He could hardly believe it. How was this supposed to satisfy his hunger? What did he expect though; some extravagant five course meal? He was this guy's _prisoner_! He supposed he should be grateful he had anything to eat at all…

Logan's captor opened up the sleeve of crackers, picked one up, and walked over to where Logan sat still as a statue.

"Here comes the choo choo train," his kidnapper said in a voice one would use to talk to an infant.

"I can feed myself, you know!" Logan snapped, hating being treated like he was some sort of little kid.

He gulped nervously when he witnessed a change in demeanor once again. Apparently, that had been the wrong thing to say.

"Fine!" his captor said, pulling out a pocket knife from his pant pocket.

He flipped it open, and stalked his way over to Logan. The boy's eyes widened with fear. He didn't want to make any sudden movements lest he injure himself, but at the same time, could he really just sit by and let whatever was about to happen take place?

Logan inhaled sharply as the utensil left a gash from Logan's belly button up to his sternum, slicing through his skin like a hot knife through butter. Blood trickled down Logan's torso as his limp body sagged forward.

However, his wrists were bound as well and were held together behind the chair. Soon, Logan could feel a warm sticky substance emanate from his wrists. He cradled his injured joints against his chest. Logan already was starting to feel lightheaded.

Even though Logan was no longer bound by his restraints, he didn't move save for curling up in a ball on the cold cement floor.

"You should have let me feed you," Logan's kidnapper remarked.

Logan whimpered in pain. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. A part of him wanted to curl up in a ball and die, but Logan could think of one…or rather _three_ reasons to survive…Kendall, James, and Carlos.

XXXXX

"911, what is the nature of your emergency?" a female 911 dispatcher answered.

"Um, yes, my best friend is missing," Carlos responded, speaking into his cell phone.

"How long has he been missing?"

"Well, he never came home for dinner last night."

Carlos didn't see what difference that made. Logan was missing. Wasn't that bad enough? He kind of regretted not just going to his dad with this even though his dad wasn't a part of the L.A.P.D.

"So he hasn't even been missing for 24 hours yet?" the dispatcher asked.

"Well, no…but…" Carlos started to say before he was interrupted.

"Call me back when it's been 24 hours, but until then, this number is only to be used for _real_ emergencies!"

The next thing Carlos knew, he heard the dial tone. He could hardly believe it. He had no idea 911 dispatchers could be so rude. Weren't they supposed to help people? How come they wouldn't help Logan? What did it matter how long he's been missing?

Carlos, though usually optimistic, couldn't help but think that 24 hours might be too late. Time was of the essence. The longer Logan went missing, the more likely something bad happened to him. Carlos choked back a sob. And the less time Logan had left to live.

"Carlos? Are you okay?" James asked.

Carlos shook his head, his vision blurred by tears. This made absolutely no sense. Logan had no enemies. Sure he used to get bullied back in Minnesota, but he was popular at The Palm Woods. So who could possibly have a bone to pick with Logan? Why did Logan have to go through this all on his own? Carlos didn't doubt that Logan was scared. He would be too if roles were reversed. Logan shouldn't have to go through whatever he was going through on his own. It just wasn't right!

James pulled Carlos in for a comforting hug. He rested his chin on the helmeted head of his best friend.

"We _are_ going to find him, Carlitos," James said reassuringly.

XXXXX

"This might sting a little bit," Logan's kidnapper said.

He had stripped Logan of his t-shirt, his bare torso exposed to the chill of the room. Logan's captor was in the process of cleaning Logan's wounds with rubbing alcohol and gauze pads.

Logan's wrists felt like they were on fire. There was a searing pain all down the front of Logan's torso. His missing fingernail long since forgotten after these newer injuries. Logan hadn't stopped crying since he had been cut free. He hissed in pain as the rubbing alcohol made contact with his injuries.

"I told you," Logan's captor said, his tone now one of affection.

Logan had so many questions; questions he was afraid to ask. He had a pretty good sense of what had transpired between his kidnapper, his little brother, Lucas, and his father, but there were still some plot holes.

Like what happened to Lucas anyways? Logan wasn't Lucas, but did that mean that Lucas was still alive somewhere? Or was Lucas dead like his father too? Did Logan's kidnapper kill Lucas? Apparently Lucas went to the police, but why? Because he knew what Logan's kidnapper did to his father? Or for something entirely different?

Logan hated even entertaining the idea, but what if he really _was_ Lucas? That's impossible, right? He was Logan Mitchell! Not Lucas…whatever! The only time he changed his name was when he had it legally changed from Hortense to Logan! He had no brother! He was an only child! Surely if he had a brother, his mom would have told him, wouldn't she?

And if Logan was Lucas, then how come he didn't remember his alleged brother? How come he didn't remember what happened to his father and what role his brother played in it? Unless he was so traumatized by what happened, he did everything he could to forget about all of it. That was certainly a possibility, wasn't it?

"Shh! Don't cry, Lucas! I'm here! Your big bro, Trevor, is here!" Trevor said.

Logan made a mental note of his captor's name. That information might prove useful at a later time.

"Are you going to be all right on your own for a little bit? I have to get some bleach to clean up all this blood with," Trevor said.

Logan nodded his head, afraid to do anything else. Trevor tousled Logan's hair, a gesture that caused a shiver to travel up and down Logan's spine nevertheless.

As soon as Logan was sure that he was really alone, he automatically started thinking of how he would escape now that he could move around. He scanned his surroundings. There was a window, but it was far too high up, and there wasn't a ladder or anything he could use to reach it.

He staggered around the room, unsteady on his feet after being tied up for so long. He quickly discerned that he was in what appeared to be a basement. As he ascended the staircase, he saw that the door leading to the basement was closed. Logan hoped it wasn't locked.

Logan's heart pounded in his chest. He wasn't a thrill seeker; he hated the feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins. However, he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. He couldn't just accept the fact that he was Trevor's prisoner, hostage, or whatever he was to Trevor. If Logan didn't at least _try_ to escape, then he would _never_ escape.

He tried the doorknob, jiggling it, but it was locked.

"No!" Logan exclaimed. "This can't be happening!"

He doubled over in pain. His wounds may have been cleaned, but they still hurt like all get out, and they were still bleeding. He knew he should probably be applying pressure to his wounds to get them to stop bleeding, but with what? He didn't exactly have many resources at his disposal.

If Logan couldn't escape through the door, that only left one option; the window. He made his way back down the stairs, not nearly moving as fast as he would have liked to. He dragged the wooden chair he had been strapped in over to the wall beneath the window. He climbed onto the chair, standing on his tiptoes, arms fully extended, but he couldn't quite reach the window sill. It was still about two and a half to three feet away.

"What are you doing?" Trevor demanded.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: I'm thinking of changing the second genre to suspense. I think that might be more fitting. Then this would be angst/suspense. What are your thoughts?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush.**

**Doppelganger**

Logan's pulse accelerated. It felt like there was a small boulder lodged in his windpipe. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of his captor. He couldn't see how anything remotely good could come out of this.

"I was just uh…opening the window. The smell of blood in here is…um…a little much…" Logan answered nervously.

However, based on the look on Trevor's face, he was far from convinced. His eyes darkened, and Logan could see the rage bubbling to the surface.

"Do you take me for a fool? You were trying to escape, weren't you? Tsk, tsk. Lucas, why would you go and do something stupid like that?" Trevor asked.

Logan's heart was pounding against his chest so viciously that Logan feared it might break through any second now. He was trying to think on his feet, but that feat was remarkably difficult when he was overcome by fear.

"Of c-course I w-wasn't! Y-you're my b-big b-brother! W-why w-would I w-wanna l-leave y-you?" Logan stuttered.

Apparently, he just couldn't win though. Even though he had been trying to take his cues from Trevor, evidently, he had just said the wrong thing. Trevor angrily snatched Logan's ankle in an iron-clad grasp.

"Are you mocking me?" Logan's captor screamed.

Logan's eyes filled with tears. He was trembling severely. He didn't want to avert his gaze, but at the same time, he was afraid of what he might find if he looked Trevor in his eyes, so he looked elsewhere anyways.

Before Logan could so much as answer, Trevor gave one violent tug, and Logan was yanked off his feet, his head snapping back after his jaw came into contact with the back of the chair. Immediately, Logan could taste blood in his mouth. He coughed, misting the cement beneath him with a spray of blood. One of his teeth came out as well.

Logan groaned as he was on all fours. Unfortunately, this left his ribcage exposed, which Trevor took full advantage of, punting him in the ribs like they were some sort of football, and he was trying to kick a field goal. Logan instantly clutched his latest injury, hissing in pain.

"You leave me no choice. You must be punished," Trevor stated.

Punished? What do you call getting a tooth knocked out? What do you call having a potentially dislocated jaw? What do you call getting kicked in the ribs? If all that didn't qualify as punishment, Logan feared what _would_.

XXXXX

"Carlos, slow down!" Officer Garcia said.

Carlos had called his father after his unsuccessful 911 call. He had rushed through explaining Logan's dire situation. Now that he had though, he was out of breath. He blinked back the tears that threatened to pour from his eyes. In these types of situations, people would say things like Logan was tough; Logan was a fighter. But he wasn't. At all. And the worst part was there was no telling what the sick freak that took Logan was doing to him.

"Logan's missing, Papi! His car and cell phone were abandoned! The keys were still in the ignition! I tried calling 911, but they said they can't do anything until he's been missing for 24 hours, but what if by then it's too late? Who would do this to Logan? What do they want with him? What are they going to do to him?" Carlos speed-talked.

James draped an arm over Carlos' shoulder, pulling him close. Carlos welcomed the closeness, yet it only reminded him that one of his best friends was missing.

The only thing Officer Garcia got from the jumbled mess was that something bad had happened to Logan; he was missing. It made no sense to him whatsoever. Logan was a good kid. Who could possibly wish ill will upon him?

Kendall had clambered into the driver's side of his mom's rental car. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white, the blood seeping from them turning a pinkish color. Fresh, hot tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. He was shaking with unbridled anger and frustration.

"Please help me, Papi! Please help Logan! If not as a police officer, then as my dad!" Carlos pleaded, his voice breaking.

"I'm gonna get the next flight out of Minnesota. Until I get there, do _not_ touch anything of Logan's, do you hear me? If whoever took Logan touched them, then their fingerprints should be on Logan's belongings," Officer Garcia said.

"But what are we supposed to do until you get here? Nothing? How can we do nothing when Logan's missing?"

Carlos felt so useless. Surely, there was something more they could be doing other then sitting around waiting for his father to show up. But the question was what? They didn't even have a solid lead yet. Logan could literally be _anywhere_…if he was even still alive…Carlos wrapped his arms around himself at the sobering thought.

"It's just an idea, but you could spread the word that Logan's missing. Maybe print out some flyers to put up around town. You could get the word out on the internet through Scuttlebutter and such. Just because the L.A.P.D. aren't willing to listen doesn't mean others won't," Officer Garcia said, his resentment of the lax attitude of his fellow men and women in uniform evident in his voice.

XXXXX

Logan was being dragged by his forearm to what looked like a kitchen. There were various kitchen appliances in the room: a dishwasher, a refrigerator and freezer, and a _gas_ range. The latter was what Logan realized with horror he was being taken to. He struggled in vain to get Trevor to let go of his forearm, now knowing what was coming.

"No! Let me go! Please, don't!" Logan cried out in a pathetically small voice.

"I think not. You need to be taught a lesson, little bro!" Trevor replied, with a sinister smirk.

Logan knew that his only saving grace would be to get Trevor to flip his switch. If only he could get Trevor to be his caring, compassionate self rather than his cruel, sadistic self.

"What do you think Father would say?" Logan asked.

"How quickly you forget that our dear old dad is six feet under because I killed him! So you see, Lucas, Daddy can't say anything! He can't save you! No one can!" Trevor replied.

The pilot was turned on, accompanied by rhythmic clicking as the range was turned on. Soon various hues of orange, red, yellow, and blue encompassed the one burner as it was set ablaze.

Logan tugged and tugged with all his might as he was literally being dragged ever closer to what was soon to be his torture device. His vision was compromised by a haze of tears. At that moment, he didn't think about his injured ribs, the gash on his torso, his slit wrists, his possibly dislocated jaw, his missing fingernail, or his missing tooth. All he could think about was what was about to happen.

The only thing Logan could do was clench his hand into a fist, reducing the surface area that would soon be scorched. This didn't deter Trevor in the slightest. He just stuck Logan's fist into the flame instead. Logan's anguished screams bounced off the walls.

The smell of burning flesh filled the kitchen. The skin on Logan's hand bubbled as it quickly blistered. The seconds that ticked by were agonizingly long. Logan wondered how much longer his hand would be held over the open flame.

Then, mercifully, Logan's hand was removed from the fire, and the burner was turned off. Logan fell to his knees on the kitchen floor, holding his hand against his chest, cradling it. He slid on the floor away from his tormentor. Logan had never been more afraid of anything in his young life than he was afraid of Trevor right now.

XXXXX

Mrs. Knight was faced with the unenviable task of informing one Joanna Mitchell that her only son had been kidnapped. How does one break such tragic news to one of their best friends? The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.

"Hello?" Joanna answered.

"Hi, Joanna. It's Jen," Mrs. Knight responded.

"Jen! It's so good to hear from you! How are things?"

Mrs. Knight sighed. Joanna sounded so happy too. How could she just go and ruin her happiness? What kind of friend did that make her? But she _deserved_ to know, didn't she? If roles were reversed, and it had been Kendall that was kidnapped, Jennifer would want Joanna to tell her. Mrs. Knight took a deep breath, mustering up her courage.

"There's no easy way to say this, but Logan's been kidnapped," Kendall and Katie's mom said, getting straight to the point.

For a good deal of time, there was nothing but silence on the other end. Mrs. Knight wished Joanna would say something, _anything_ if for no other reason than to know that she was still there. Jennifer couldn't even imagine how Logan's mom was feeling right about now.

Joanna wanted to hold someone responsible, and as easy as it would be to blame Jennifer, Logan's guardian while they lived in L.A., she somehow knew that it wouldn't be fair to blame her. Besides, she was one of her best friends. They had been through too much together to let something like this come between them.

"H-how? W-when? W-why?" Logan's mother stammered.

"I'm _so_ sorry! He called me on his way back from his tutoring job yesterday. Only when I answered, he wasn't on the other end," Jennifer answered.

"Y-yesterday? Th-this h-happened y-yesterday, and y-you're only n-now t-telling m-me?"

"Joanna, I was going to tell you, I just didn't…hello? Joanna? Are you there?"

But Logan's mom had already hung up on Kendall's mom. Jennifer buried her face in her hands and cried. What if this was the end of her friendship with Joanna? What if she never forgave her? What kind of a guardian was she?

XXXXX

Logan found himself back in the basement. He was in pain. So much pain. He just wanted it all to stop. He just wanted to die so he wouldn't have to suffer anymore. Then the faces of Carlos, Kendall, and James flashed through his mind. It was then that he vowed to himself that no matter how bad it got, he would hold on for them. He would see them again one day. Hopefully that would give him all the strength he needed.

"Lucas, that's why you shouldn't play with fire," Trevor said, his voice surprisingly sweet now.

_Play with fire? You held my hand over an open flame, you sick freak! _Logan didn't care how caring Trevor's voice sounded, he was terrified of him. He didn't see that changing anytime in the immediate future either.

"Here. Let me see it," Trevor stated.

Just so no further harm would come to him, Logan obliged without giving it a second thought. Trevor lowered his face to Logan's hand, his chapped lips feeling like rough sandpaper as they kissed seemingly every square inch of Logan's blistered, burnt hand.

"Feel better?" Trevor asked.

Logan nodded his head, lying. The truth of the matter was getting his blisters kissed did zero, zip, zilch, nada. Somehow though, Logan figured that wasn't the answer Trevor wanted to hear.

"You know, you didn't have to try and run away," Trevor said.

"I-I know. I-I w-won't d-do th-that again," Logan stammered.

Trevor shook his head. Logan was unsure if this was a good sign or a bad sign. His body tensed with anticipation. He pushed the static of pain to the back of his mind for the moment. If Trevor was going to harm him again in some way, Logan needed to be completely focused; he couldn't let something like pain distract him and make him less alert.

"No, I meant all those years ago when you walked in on me killing Father. You didn't have to run away. I would _never_ hurt you; you're my brother; we have to stick together," Trevor commented.

Logan had an inkling to make some sarcastic remark about how untrue Trevor's last statement was. Perhaps he would show Trevor some of the injuries he inflicted on his "brother." However, with the way Logan's luck was going as of late, it would probably just make Trevor hurt him even more, and Logan wanted to avoid that as much as possible, so he said nothing.

XXXXX

Carlos had printed out some missing person flyers and he, James, and Kendall had been busy putting them up. Carlos was putting them up at The Palm Woods. James had gone to the Palm Woods Park. Kendall had gone into town.

Seeing Logan's face on the flyer was so surreal. Carlos still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that someone had taken Logan; that someone wished to harm Logan. It wasn't right! It wasn't fair! What could Logan possibly have done that was so bad? No, Logan probably didn't do anything wrong at all. How could he? He's Logan!

"Carlos, what is this?" a familiar voice that made Carlos' heart break asked.

He spun on his heels, coming face-to-face with none other than Camille, whose eyes were sparkling with tears. She was Logan's on-again-off-again girlfriend. Frankly, Carlos wasn't even quite sure where the two of them stood with each other. Were they back on again?

"We think Logan's been kidnapped," Carlos replied.

"No! Say it isn't so! Carlos, please!" Camille begged.

Carlos couldn't bring himself to look at Camille anymore. He didn't want to see the unadulterated sadness that mirrored the raw emotion he himself was experiencing. He hadn't wanted to be the one to tell Camille; he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news.

"It's true," Carlos responded.

"No! I won't believe it! You're wrong! You have to be! Maybe Logan just had to go somewhere and clear his head! Maybe he's perfectly fine wherever he is!" Camille exclaimed.

"Camille, Logan's car was abandoned with the keys still in the ignition. His cell phone was on the ground nearby. Logan called Mama Knight on his way back from his tutoring job, and Kendall later heard the sound of a car driving away. Logan never said anything. He…he…probably couldn't."

Camille didn't want to believe that Logan was missing. She didn't want to believe that any harm was coming to him. The only thing she wanted to believe was that Logan was on his way back to them; on his way back to her.

To Be Continued…


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay, so I'm going to try something different in this chapter. Once you read it, you'll see what it is. If nothing else, this just goes to show you that I actually do consider your feedback.**

**Disclaimer: Even after all this time, I still own nothing.**

**Doppelganger**

Logan had just finished going to the bathroom in the corner of the basement. Trevor had him locked downstairs where there was no toilet. Logan really had to go though, so he had no choice but to go to the bathroom on the floor. After going both number one and number two, Logan felt better, but now he had the awful stench to contend with.

Logan's fist was a deep shade of pink, and it had a certain luster to it. Pus started to leak out of the popping blisters. He couldn't unclench his fist without first causing himself unbearably agony, so he left it clenched.

His eyes roamed the room for anything he could possibly use as a weapon; as a means of defending himself. Even though Logan wasn't particularly adept at using weapons, his current predicament had thrown him into survival mode.

There was a glaring flaw in his plan. Well, more than one. First of all, Logan was giving up a lot of size on Trevor. Even if he had been proficient in weapon use, it would still be an uphill battle. Second of all, Logan wasn't anywhere near full strength. He was tired. He was famished. He was experiencing a nagging, dull pain. But by far, the biggest flaw was that there was nothing Logan could use as a weapon with the exception of the wooden chair he had been tied to.

But it was better than nothing, so even though it took a great deal more effort with only one hand, Logan brandished the wooden chair, and pressed his back firmly against the wall, waiting for Trevor to come back downstairs.

Logan's heart felt like it was pounding in his ears. His breath hitched in his throat as he could hear who was presumably Trevor fiddling with the lock on the door. His hold on the wooden chair leg slipped a bit due to the sweat on the palm of his unburnt hand.

He could hear the stairs creaking as Trevor descended them. Logan's pulse accelerated. He was starting to have second thoughts about his plan. He wasn't terribly fond of the idea of physically harming another human being. He quickly pushed that reservation to the back of his mind. After all, Trevor would only be getting what he had coming.

"Lucas? Where are you little bro? Come out, come out wherever you are!" Trevor said in a singsong voice that caused the hairs on the back of Logan's neck to stand straight on end.

Trevor rounded the corner as his eyes scanned the room in search of his "little bro." Was he hiding from him? Had he tried to escape again? Or maybe he actually had escaped this time. Why would he go and do that though? Didn't he want to be around his big brother anymore?

Logan soon saw Trevor a few paces in front of him with his back to him. Logan tightened his grip on the wooden chair, rose it high above his head and slammed it right in between Trevor's shoulder blades, effectively breaking the shoddy piece of furniture.

When Logan had concocted this strategy in his head, he had envisioned the blow rendering Trevor unconscious. Then Logan would have nothing standing between him and his escape. Only things didn't quite go as he had planned.

Maybe it was because he wasn't at full strength, or maybe even if he had been at full strength, it wouldn't have been enough, but the fact remained that the surprise attack only managed to do one thing, anger his captor. Trevor spun around on his heels, and glowered at Logan as all the color drained from the boy's face.

"Why did you have to go and do that?" Trevor asked rhetorically, shaking his head.

Logan made a run for it, but was stopped in his tracks when a wooden chair leg was hurled at his temple with uncanny precision, causing him to drop where he stood like a ton of bricks. From the floor, he groaned, using his good hand to assess his injury. There was a welt already starting to form.

His vision was blurred around the edges, and bright spots danced in front of his eyes. In hindsight, Logan realized that this might not have been one of his more ingenious plans, but it wasn't like he could have a do over, now could he?

"Someone has been a very bad boy," Trevor said, before he trampled back up the stairs.

Logan had no idea where Trevor was going, what he was doing, and quite frankly, he didn't want to know. He briefly entertained the idea of picking himself up off the floor, but oddly enough, the frigid surface of the cement floor had somewhat of a soothing effect on Logan's welt.

He was starting to lose hope. He was starting to lose faith. He couldn't escape. He couldn't incapacitate Trevor. That begged the question, what could he do? Maybe he couldn't do anything. Maybe he was just resigned to whatever horrible fate awaited him.

Then, he heard it. It sounded like his best friends were right there with him. He could practically hear their voices. But that was impossible, right? As much as Logan wanted to see them, as much as he wanted to see them, he also wanted them to be as far away from here as possible. At least that way, he would know they were safe. At least that way, they wouldn't have to go through what he was going through.

"Come on, Logie!" Kendall's voice urged.

"You gotta get up!" Carlos said encouragingly.

"Don't you dare give up!" James exclaimed.

Logan shook his head and let out a deep sigh. But giving up was so much easier. He didn't know how much more of this he could take, and he wasn't privy to the idea of testing his limits.

Logan tried to drown out the sound of his friends' voices by humming Big Time Rush songs to himself. Occasionally, the lyrics were interrupted by the words, "I'm sorry."

XXXXX

Logan was startled awake from his precarious sleep by the sound of metal clanking on the floor. His eyes widened in terror when he saw thousands of gold thumb tacks scattered on the floor beside him. At that moment, every muscle in Logan's body was paralyzed by a crippling fear.

"W-what are y-you g-going t-to d-do w-with th-those?" Logan stuttered nervously.

He didn't know what he was expecting when he chanced a glance at Trevor's eyes, but there was not an ounce of compassion in them. Unfortunately for Logan, they were ablaze with fury.

"You did a bad thing. A very bad thing. Now you're gonna pay for it," Trevor said in a childlike voice that didn't sound like it could come from his massive frame.

Logan quaked with fear. He did absolutely nothing, and he got beaten. He fights back, and he gets beaten. He couldn't win, could he? What was he supposed to do? How could he possibly avoid the seemingly inevitable beatings? At this point in time, Logan was practically willing to do anything if it meant that the beatings would stop.

"N-no! N-not th-that! P-please!" Logan begged.

But before he knew it, he was scooped up in Trevor's arms. Logan feebly pounded his fists against Trevor's back, the effort only exacerbating the agony of his burned fist. Then, Logan felt himself in freefall. He knew what was coming too. He squeezed his eyes shut, and braced himself for impact.

Logan's anguished cries filled the room as he was turned into a human pin cushion. Thin ribbons of blood trickled out of numerous locales on Logan's back, arms, and legs. It felt like someone had taken a rake and was dragging it across the exposed flesh of Logan's back, which took the brunt of the fall.

Every time Logan thought it wasn't possible for him to experience any worse pain, Trevor found a way to prove him wrong. This was by far the worst he has had to endure since being at the mercy of Trevor and his sadistic tendencies. His breaths came in short gasps. He desperately wanted to remove every last thumb tack from his punctured body, but he was worried that the effort would involve him pricking himself even more. _Just let me die!_

Trevor blinked his eyes dazedly, his docile demeanor winning out.

"Oh God! Lucas, what happened?" he asked, his voice ridden with genuine worry, as he picked Logan up off the floor, and frantically began removing tack after tack from Logan's body.

Even though Trevor's removing the tacks helped to alleviate some of the pain, Logan's body was still tensed up. He didn't entirely trust Trevor because he almost never knew which Trevor he was dealing with.

Logan pursed his lips together. He ultimately decided that no answer was better than any answer he could come up with.

Even after all of the tacks were picked out of Logan's flesh, to Logan, it still felt like they were embedded in there.

"Lucas, you know you can tell me anything, right?" Trevor asked.

Logan inwardly scoffed. He would much sooner have Gustavo as a confidante than Trevor. Every natural instinct was telling him to make some biting, sarcastic remark, but Logan thought discretion would be the best course of action.

Of course, Trevor took Logan's silence as something completely different. Every last trace of the kinder, gentler Trevor disappeared from his facial features.

"I appreciate your concern, but really, I'm fine," Logan said through clenched teeth. It was killing him to be civil to his tormentor.

Trevor might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but even he could tell that Logan was lying through his teeth. This new morsel of information didn't do anything to improve Trevor's already foul mood.

"Don't lie to me, Lucas!" Trevor warned.

Logan threw his hands up in frustration, wincing when a gesture so simple caused him immense pain. He was tired of being scared of saying the wrong thing. He was tired of lying to appease Trevor. He was tired of everything. At this point, he didn't care if it only made things worse. Besides, what could possibly be worse than anything Trevor's already done to him?

"Fine! You want the truth? I'll tell you the truth! I'm not fine! I'm starving! I'm thirsty! I'm tired! My skin is crawling because I can't get rid of the sensation of having tacks sticking out of me! Every square inch of my body hurts! The slightest movement only makes things worse! So, thanks to you, I'm far from fine!" Logan snapped.

For a fraction of a second, Trevor looked almost impressed by Logan's outburst. However, then he tromped his way up the stairs. Logan hoped against hope that Trevor wouldn't come back down the stairs, but he couldn't possibly be that lucky. If anything, Logan would soon experience a new level of pain.

XXXXX

He was surprised when Trevor returned with a camcorder in hand. Logan didn't understand what Trevor was going to do with the camcorder unless he planned on bashing his skull in with it. The predator stalked his prey, grabbing a fistful of his hair, and jerking his head forward until they were face-to-face.

"Here's what's going to happen; from now on we're going to record our time together," Trevor said, caressing the side of Logan's face. "I'll keep these videos as a sort of keepsake."

Soon the red light was on, letting Logan know that Trevor was currently recording them. In the back of Logan's mind, he wondered if Trevor was telling the truth about what he intended on doing with the footage.

"Now then, where do you live?" Trevor asked.

Logan was a bit caught off guard by the question. Why did Trevor want to know? He felt sick to his stomach at the idea of Trevor finding and hurting his friends. Logan made a vow to himself then and there that no matter what Trevor did to him, he would not divulge that information. Logan might not be able to do much in his current state, but he could at least protect Kendall, James, Carlos, and the rest of his friends at The Palm Woods.

Before Logan knew what was happening, a sarcastic reply had already escaped his lips. Afterwards, he gasped, and clamped a hand over his mouth. It had been a knee-jerk response, really.

"Uh, you're my brother! Where do you think I live?" Logan retorted.

It wasn't the first time Logan's sharp tongue got him in trouble, and it probably wouldn't be the last either. Trevor made a beeline for Logan, ensnared one of Logan's fingers with his meaty hands, and viciously bent it backwards further than Logan could of his own volition. The motion was so swift and so forceful that there was a horrifying snapping sound. Logan's screams of torture filled the basement as he cradled his newly broken finger against his chest.

"That's right! Cry for me, Lucas!" Trevor commanded while smirking sinisterly.

Even though Logan didn't want to give Trevor the satisfaction of seeing him reduced to tears, he couldn't do anything but cry. Despite his hand trembling, Logan could see the detached bone; it was as clear as day the way his one finger sagged with nothing to hold it firmly in place.

"I'll ask you one more time; where do you live?" Trevor questioned.

This time Logan remained silent. He didn't care what happened to him so long as it didn't happen to his friends. The last thing he was willing to do was just tell Trevor where to find them. There was a popping sound, and just like that, another of Logan's fingers was broken. The frightened teenager bit his lip in a last ditch effort to keep himself from crying. He bit down so hard that he drew blood.

"I know you live in The Palm Woods! Nothing's going to stop me from going there and asking around!" Trevor exclaimed.

"No! Don't! Please don't! Leave them alone! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt my friends!" Logan pleaded, his eyes full of desperate tears.

Horrific images of Trevor doing to Kendall, James, and Carlos what he's done to Logan flitted through Logan's mind.

"Hurt them? Why would I want to hurt them?" Trevor asked. "They haven't wronged me like you have! They're not the ones who ratted me out to the police! They're not the ones who made me into a fugitive! That was you! This and all future videos are for your friends! That's why I want to know where you live! So I can have this delivered to them!"

It finally made sense what Trevor was doing with the camcorder; he was going to record Logan's torture, and then send the video to his friends only to have them watch it. But Logan was petrified. Who's to say that Trevor would stop there? He says he wishes his friends no harm, but what's to stop him from hurting the others once he finds out where they live? Maybe that was one way Trevor planned on punishing Logan; making him watch helplessly as his friends are tortured. Usually, Logan liked being right, but this time, he actually hoped he was wrong.

He was jarred into reality when a cloth with a sickly sweet scent was clamped over his mouth. Logan tried to pry the hand off, but any attempt at that would be fruitless with his one fist that is essentially useless and his other hand with its two broken fingers. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his eyelids drooped shut, and Logan was swimming in darkness.

To Be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: In case you didn't know what I meant by me trying a different approach with this story, last chapter, odds are that you will probably know what I mean by the end of this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: It ain't no thing but a chicken wing! I mean I don't own no thing but a chicken wing! **

**Doppelganger**

Katie Knight was getting the mail as usual. With six people living in Apartment 2J, it's funny how Katie was always the one that got the mail. Of course, she's always the one to volunteer for the task, but that's beside the point. She doesn't deny that she likes to sift through the mail. Some people call her nosy, but she prefers the term _being in the know_.

Today's mail consists of a bunch of junk mail, some bills, and a brown paper package that immediately caught Katie's attention. Several red flags were raised because of this mysterious package. Red flag number one: there was no return address. Red flag number two: it was addressed to Big Time Rush, not any specific resident. Red flag number three: there wasn't even a stamp; whoever sent it must have just came to The Palm Woods and dropped it off. Red flag number four: the sender didn't even bother to put the apartment number. That last one could have meant one of two things; either the sender didn't know the apartment number, or the sender was just being negligent.

The thought crossed Katie's mind that it could just be fan mail. That would certainly make sense. Her brother and her friends got tons of fan mail. Although, come to think of it, most of the fan mail was sent to Gustavo at Rocque Records, not the boys at The Palm Woods.

There was something almost…_ominous_… about the sloppy scrawl though. It had a childlike quality to it; like someone was learning to write for the first time. Every letter was a capital letter. Some of the letters were backwards. Naturally, Katie wondered if a kid wrote this. On the off chance that and adult was responsible for this, then there was _definitely_ something wrong with this adult.

Maybe it was just because Logan had gone missing, but Katie suspected it was the latter. She couldn't shake the really bad feeling she had about this. What if whoever took Logan sent this? Could it even be possible? Or was this some sort of wishful thinking? Was this some sort of yearning for some sort of contact with Logan even if it's only via his kidnapper?

If Katie was being entirely honest with herself, she and Logan weren't even _that_ close. There was her big brother who she idolized. There was James who she _may_ have a teeny, tiny crush on, though she would never admit it to his face. Then there was Carlos who sometimes acted like he was the same age as Katie even though he was _supposed to be _five years older.

As for Logan, she didn't really hang out with him. She didn't really do things with him unless some of the other guys were involved. To be frank, Katie wasn't even quite sure why that was. The more she thought about it though, the more she came to the conclusion that maybe there was a little bit of jealousy, resentment, there. As incredibly smart as Katie was, Logan was smarter. As close as Katie was to Kendall, Logan was closer. He wasn't even _related_ to Kendall either! She was!

Katie had to take a few moments to take some deep breaths and compose herself. When she did, her thoughts returned to Logan, but they were much calmer this time around. No matter how much she was jealous of Logan, no matter how much she resented him, she still didn't want anything bad to happen to him. Whereas Carlos had a naïve, childlike innocence to him, Logan had a moral innocence to him. He had a strong sense of right and wrong.

Thinking of Logan got Katie to thinking of Camille, Logan's on-again-off-again girlfriend. Katie, along with practically everyone else, assumed that it was only a matter of time before Logan and Camille were back on again. As bright as Logan was though, when it came to girls, he could be unbelievably stupid. That wasn't entirely fair though; he had a good reason for breaking up with Camille. If Katie remembered correctly, at the time it happened, she was astonished Camille would even do that to Logan; make out with James while she and Logan were dating.

Anyways, Katie _liked_ Camille. She didn't have many girl type friends at The Palm Woods besides Camille. Katie knew that Logan's being taken had to be eating Camille up inside. That was why Katie felt bad for Camille. She and Logan may not be currently in a relationship, but she never stopped caring about him. They've always managed to remain good friends.

Apparently, Katie was back in Apartment 2J. She didn't remember getting in, or for that matter, getting out of the elevator. She didn't remember opening the door to the apartment. The only thing she did realize was that evidently, her mother had been saying her name repeatedly until Katie finally heard.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Knight asked, her voice laden with worry.

To tell the truth or lie? Definitely lie. "It's nothing, Mom. The guys got some mail," Katie replied, masterfully keeping the shakiness from her voice.

Jennifer Knight frowned. She wasn't blind; she knew that Katie and Logan weren't exactly the best of friends. However, she wished that her daughter would open up to her; she wished that she would tell her how she felt about Logan being kidnapped because despite what Katie said, Jennifer knew that it wasn't _nothing_.

"You guys got mail!" Katie shouted, cupping her mouth with her hands to increase the volume.

In no time at all, Katie and Mrs. Knight were soon joined by Kendall, James, and Carlos. Little did the two girls know that when the guys heard _mail_, they secretly hoped it was from Logan himself. It might be foolish of them to hope for such a miracle, but at this point in time, they didn't care.

As the leader of the group, Kendall was the one who took the brown paper package from his little sister. He carefully opened it up, and found that it housed some sort of disc. At first glance, Kendall wasn't sure if it was a CD or a DVD.

"What are you waiting for? Put it in!" James exclaimed, hoping some hot babe was on it professing her undying love for him…er…Big Time Rush.

"Yeah! Put it in!" Carlos said agreeably. Then again, when did he ever _not_ agree with James?

Kendall felt a pang in his chest as he thought about how if Logan were here, he'd advise them _not_ to put it in at least until they could be sure of its contents. Kendall fought back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes. Thinking about what Logan would say only made Kendall miss Logan all the more.

It was just the five of them. Officer Garcia had joined one of many search teams that was combing the entire city of Los Angeles in search of any sign of Logan. The residents of Apartment 2J silently made their way to the living room, and Kendall inserted the disc into the Blu-Ray player, and turned on the TV.

A few seconds. A few seconds was all it took for them to work out that this was a DVD. A few seconds was all it took for everyone but James to clear out of the living room. A battered, bloodied Logan showed up on the television screen. Mrs. Knight grabbed Katie, and led her out of the room muttering something about how she shouldn't watch. Kendall bolted out of the room with his hand on his mouth, cheeks puffed out, looking extremely green in the face. Carlos ran from the room, tears pouring down the sides of his face.

XXXXX

Kendall sat on the bathroom floor with his back against the wall. Using several sheets of toilet paper, he blew his nose, remnants of vomit bubbling inside. Grabbing some more sheets of tissue, he wiped the corners of his mouth. He discarded the soiled paper in the toilet before flushing it.

After what seemed like an agonizing lifetime, there was no longer anything left in Kendall's stomach; he had regurgitated it all into the porcelain bowl over the course of the last several minutes.

Kendall sat there and shook as he was overcome by a whirlwind of emotions that ranged from sadness to fury. He felt so utterly helpless. He felt like a complete failure. Who was the first person Logan always came to for help? Kendall. Only this time, what could Kendall possibly do? He didn't know where Logan was. He didn't even know how recent that footage of him was. For all he knew, Logan might be long gone…no, Kendall refused to believe that. He shook his head, trying to clear such unacceptable thoughts from his racing mind.

There was one thing that Kendall knew with absolute certainty; whoever had taken Logan, whoever was doing this to Logan, Kendall was going to murder. It made no sense to Kendall why Logan had been targeted. He was the moral compass of the group. Who could possibly want to hurt him?

Kendall squeezed his eyes tightly shut as if that would erase the images of a battered and bloodied Logan from his mind. If anything, that only served to make the images even more prominent. It was almost as though those horrific images were permanently burned into Kendall's memory.

"Are you okay?" a pitifully small voice that Kendall eventually realized belonged to Carlos asked.

Kendall opened his eyes and took in the sorry state of one of his other best friends. Carlos' eyes were red and puffy. Clearly he had been doing a lot of crying. A thin stream of snot trickled out from Carlos' nostrils, but Carlos didn't seem to mind. His brown irises oscillated back and forth, glimmering all the while.

Carlos knew that the mere sight of blood made Kendall woozy. Finding Kendall sitting on the bathroom floor made Big Time Rush's youngest member wonder if there was more to it than that. Come to think of it, he vaguely remembered how Kendall looked green in the face before Carlos himself darted out of the living room overcome by his own emotions.

"Why?" was all Kendall could manage to answer.

Somehow Carlos knew that Kendall wasn't asking why he was asking if he was okay; he knew he was asking why this was happening to Logan of all people. Carlos sighed, sniffling. Things must be really bad for Kendall to come to Carlos looking for answers. Usually, his go-to guy was…Carlos left that train of thought unfinished, frowning deeply.

Carlos' knees were already wobbly, so he took a seat on the bathroom floor beside Kendall. Both friends draped an arm around the other's shoulders. Carlos rested his head against Kendall's chest as both boys let their tears fall unchecked.

Carlos felt like they should be doing something other than sitting on the bathroom floor crying, but he didn't have the ambition to do anything else. He felt thoroughly defeated. He didn't think they would ever see Logan in person again, and even if they did, it would only be in a body bag.

XXXXX

James watched the footage of Logan's torture, unable to tear his eyes away from the television monitor. When Logan's captor wrenched Logan's fingers back, James winced. It was almost as if he could physically feel the pain Logan was feeling. This whole experience was like some car wreck; as much as James wanted to look away, he couldn't.

James was surprised that he was coherent enough to pick up on three key details: one, Logan's kidnapper thought Logan was his brother; two, the kidnapper's brother apparently was named Lucas; three, Logan was willing to be punished in order to keep their location a secret.

This last tidbit of information had James fiercely shaking his head. He wanted to do nothing more but scream at the screen before him; scream at Logan to just tell the creepy guy where they live. It killed James to know that even in the clutches of some madman, Logan was _trying_ to protect them.

This was all wrong. Left was right. Up was down. They were supposed to protect Logan, not the other way around! That's the way it's always worked before! James' eyes prickled with tears as he witnessed the devotion and loyalty Logan was displaying. What did they ever do to deserve such loyalty from Logan?

Each and every injury was all the more pronounced to James. He could see the gashes on Logan's wrists. He could see an angry red line run up from Logan's belly button to his sternum. James noticed the myriad speckles all over Logan's arms and torso, some of which were oozing blood. He could see the bluish-purple bruises forming over Logan's ribcage. He could see the blackened skin over Logan's swollen eye. He observed the festering flesh of Logan's fist.

When Logan's captor rendered Logan unconscious with some sort of chloroform, James was terrified when the screen suddenly went black. What was that maniac going to do with Logan now that he was out? Why did he stop recording? Logan was completely defenseless.

James hurled the TV remote against the wall with such force that the back came off, and the batteries spilled to the floor. James rose to his feet, and with one sweep of his arms, cleared the top of the coffee table, all the décor clattering on the floor below. He then grabbed the edges of the glass furniture, and upended it, the sound of glass shattering reverberating off the walls of the apartment.

James was seething with anger. He made a vow to himself right then and there that _he_ would be the one to bring Logan's kidnapper to justice. There wasn't a sliver of doubt in James' mind that this pathetic excuse for a human being deserved to die, and James was going to see to it that it was at his hands.

To Be Continued…


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Big Time Rush.**

**Doppelganger**

Logan woke up only to find himself stark naked. This left him completely baffled. Where were his clothes? What had Trevor done to him? Logan threw up a little bit in his mouth when he thought of the sickening prospect that Trevor might have had his way with Logan while he was unconscious.

He mustered up what little courage he still possessed, and looked down, examining the lower half of his body. Dried blood was caked on his hips and waist. He also spotted the red liquid on his thighs; even the insides of his thighs.

Even though as far as he could tell, he was the only one in the room, Logan hastily tried to cover himself up as best as he could with his hands. The task was easier said than done with one hand that was stuck in a clenched fist that was adorned with blisters, and the other hand with two broken fingers.

If Trevor really had raped Logan, and that certainly was the way it looked, it was downright degrading. It was incredibly humiliating. Logan had no idea it was possible to be as mortified as he was at that moment. The worst part was that Trevor believed that Logan was his brother, which meant that this deed that may or may not have truly happened was verging on incest.

Tears quickly filled Logan's eyes, even the one that was swollen shut. The salty concoction seeped out of the corners of his blackened eye as well as his one good eye. Logan had always envisioned that his first time would be with some girl he loved, maybe even Camille. Never in a million years did he think that he would lose his virginity to some wacko who wasn't in full command of his mental faculties.

Logan was forced to think of something entirely different when his stomach growled. He had barely anything to eat or drink since this nightmare first began; a sleeve of saltines and a bottle of water. Speaking of which, off in the distance, at the very bottom of the stairwell, Logan spotted the very food and beverage awaiting him.

He found himself in a bit of a dilemma. Should he eat the crackers and drink the water, giving his stomach a temporary reprieve from its hunger pains? Or should he horde both so that at a later date, he can have an even bigger meal? Then, and Logan didn't know how, but he remembered something; a human can go without food for one week, but can only go without water for one day. So maybe Logan should drink _some_ of the water then, but he didn't have to drink it _all_.

He resembled a serpent as he dragged himself on his belly over to the bottom of the stairs using only his legs to get him moving. He definitely couldn't use one of his hands, and he pretty much couldn't use his other, so what other choice did he have? After what were only several minutes, though to Logan it felt like several hours, he managed to make it to his rations.

But now he had run into yet another roadblock; how was he supposed to open the sleeve of crackers and bottle of water? He gripped the plastic cap of the water bottle with his three operational fingers. However, he wasn't able to get a firm hold, and the lid remained perfectly intact.

It sat there taunting Logan. Beads of condensation lazily rolled down the sides of the bottle. Logan would have salivated at that sight if only he could produce any saliva. He thought how wonderful that would feel going down his throat. It obviously was still fairly cold if there was condensation. From the brief time, Logan held the water bottle, it certainly felt cold.

As much as Logan hated to admit it, the best shot he had of getting _any_ of that in his stomach was the one person he didn't particularly care to see: Trevor. Ever since Logan had woken from his slumber, he hadn't seen hide or hair of his captor. There really was no telling when next he would see him.

Logan's gaze shot to the top of the staircase when the door to the basement opened. Sheer terror overcame Logan when he saw what Trevor was brandishing; a knife about nine inches long with a serrated edge. Logan frantically tried to slither away fully aware that it was probably only a matter of time before he felt that weapon on his skin.

He could hear the rustle of paper as Trevor must have stepped on the sleeve of saltines, smashing them into bite size pieces. Logan was far too panicked to look back for confirmation of that.

"No! Leave me alone! Why won't you leave me alone?" Logan cried out, his voice ridiculously hoarse.

Soon he felt a tremendous weight on his lower back. It didn't take Logan long to deduce where that weight was coming from; Trevor was sitting on him. Logan could practically feel his spine buckle from the added pressure. He frantically clawed at the ground with his one mostly functional hand for a reason that eluded Logan.

He couldn't dodge the topic any longer. For better or worse, Logan had to address the elephant in the room.

"Did you _rape_ me?" Logan demanded, tears streaming down his face.

A booming laugh filled the basement. Logan was startled by the sheer dynamic of the sound. Not once did he stop trying to wriggle himself free even though he knew it was all in vain.

"As good looking as you are, and you _are_ good looking," Trevor said, grabbing a handful of Logan's hair and purring seductively in his ear. "I don't swing that way. I just wanted you to _think_ that I did so it would break you."

"You sick freak!" Logan spat before he could stop himself.

Though Logan couldn't see it firsthand, Trevor's eyes darkened. His fist containing the follicles of Logan's hair tightened so much that it felt like he was trying to rip his hair out.

"I am _not_ a freak!" Trevor roared before repeatedly slamming Logan's face into the cement floor.

Bright spots danced in front of Logan's good eye. He rotated his head in an attempt to protect his nose from getting broken. Both of his cheeks collided with the unforgiving surface time and time again. Wails of agony passed through Logan's lips, which only brought a smile to Trevor's face.

Logan was slipping in and out of consciousness when Trevor finally, _mercifully_ stopped trying to bash Logan's skull in. The beating had long since managed to stop Logan's squirming that Trevor found to be extremely annoying.

Despite the fact that Trevor had come down the stairs with a camcorder in his hand and had been filming the entire time, Logan hadn't even noticed the camcorder. When he first saw Trevor coming down to the basement, the only thing he saw was the blade in his hand.

"Now we're going to play a little game. How does that sound, Lucas?" Trevor asked in his disturbingly childlike voice.

Logan groaned in response. Streams of blood flowed out from Logan's mouth. The jarring impact of blow after blow had caused Logan to bite his tongue several times, all but shredding the uppermost layers of the organ.

"I'm going to spell something out on your back, drawing one letter at a time. You have to guess each letter as I draw it," Trevor explained, tightening his hold on the knife.

Naturally, Logan was oblivious to the fact that Trevor was going to use the knife to draw on his back. Poor, unsuspecting Logan was under the impression that Trevor was going to use something harmless like his finger. The boy band member quickly learned how wrong he was.

Trevor dug the knife into Logan's back, drawing out the letter "D." Logan whimpered in pain as it felt like the skin was falling off his back. A deep red substance marred the canvas of Logan's back.

The teenager didn't understand. Trevor had been talking in a childlike voice. Wasn't that supposed to mean that it was the nice, compassionate Trevor that he was dealing with? Then why was he causing Logan pain? If the childlike voice was now ominous, does that mean that the angry voice is now nice Trevor? Or was the sound of his captor's voice no longer an indicator of what kind of a mood Trevor was in? If that was the case, Trevor suddenly became even more dangerous.

"Well? What letter was that? Come on! Remember that your friends are watching," Trevor commented.

Then it was clear that Trevor _was_ recording this. Even though Logan was certain that the letter Trevor had carved into his back was either a "P," a "B," a "D," or an "R," the boy had another idea in mind. If Kendall, James, and Carlos were watching this, then there was something that Logan had to tell them because he might not get another chance; he might not be alive much longer. There was something that Logan wanted his best friends to know.

"I," Logan uttered in response knowing full well it wasn't what Trevor had etched into his back.

"Not even close! I'll draw it again!" Trevor replied.

And so he did. Logan clenched his teeth in agony being mindful of his tongue so he didn't bite it again. He willed himself to remain conscious. Staying alive was pretty much unachievable anymore, but at the very least, Logan had to give his best friends the message he wanted them to hear.

"L," Logan guessed.

Trevor was perplexed. Wasn't Lucas supposed to be the smart one? A "D" looked nothing like an "L" did! So he busied himself drawing another "D" on Logan's back this time pushing the tip of the knife in even further so that the very beginning of the serrated edge penetrated Logan's pale skin.

The teenager let out a heart-wrenching cry of pain. His vision was clouded by tears. There was a searing pain on his back that overshadowed any other injury Logan had suffered thus far.

"O," Logan sobbed.

"Damn it, Lucas! It's not an 'O' either!" Trevor snarled.

Logan's captor pushed the knife in even further, more of the serrated edge tearing through Logan's back. The blood was really flowing now. You could no longer see any white on the poor kid's back.

_Five more letters, Logan! Just five more letters! You can do this! You have to! You didn't even get to tell them goodbye! _

"V," Logan cried out.

It was a struggle for Logan to keep his one good eye open. Not that he needed it open for them to play this "game" they were playing. Still though, Logan figured that if he focused on keeping his eye open, he could remain conscious long enough to complete his goal.

"Are you even trying?" Trevor bellowed.

Yet again, Trevor carved a "D" into Logan's flesh. In numerous locations, the skin was barely held in place. A familiar metallic smell filled the air.

"E," Logan said in a voice barely loud enough for Trevor to hear.

Perhaps Trevor was so infuriated that Lucas wasn't guessing correctly to notice what it was that Logan _was_ spelling. At any rate, he drew a "D" in Logan's back for a sixth time.

For the first time since their little "game" started, Logan didn't answer right away. The eyelid on Logan's one good eye had fallen shut. Overcoming the pain seemed like climbing Mount Everest.

"Y," Logan uttered, desperately trying to open his eye.

Trevor shook his head in complete disbelief. Maybe jamming the knife further in Lucas' back would get him to try harder to guess correctly. The entire serrated edge was now lodged in Logan's back. All that remained of that side of the blade was flat.

Logan felt himself fading fast. It wouldn't be long now until he passed out from the pain. It was remarkable he had lasted this long. Maybe Logan was tougher than he originally thought he was.

"O," Logan said his voice strikingly louder than before. He wanted to make sure the others could hear what he was saying or else what was the point?

Trevor drew a "D" on Logan's back one more time. He had cut right to the bone. He could see Logan's spinal cord. The gashes may not have been very wide, but they were deep.

"U," Logan guessed before he allowed himself to blackout from the pain, feeling a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

When Trevor went to draw a "D" in Logan's back for a ninth time, he received no response. He pressed his ear against Logan's back on the opposite side of where his heart was and listened for a heartbeat. He felt a huge amount of relief when he found one. It was faint, but it was there. Trevor pulled his face away from Logan's mangled back, droplets of Logan's blood dripping off Trevor's earlobe.

"Lucas?" Trevor shouted, shaking his 'little bro.' "Lucas?"

To Be Continued…


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long since I updated this, but I seriously need help with staying motivated, so help a friend out.**

**Disclaimer: I own zero, zip, zilch, nada.**

**Doppelganger**

James, Kendall, and Carlos were huddled in the kitchen at their apartment, their gazes fixated on an object laying on top of the counter. It was a manila envelope that had neat cursive writing on it that was almost elegant in nature. There was no return address. After receiving a video of Logan being tortured in the mail yesterday, the boys were skeptical of this package. Well, all but Carlos.

"Maybe it's not what we _think_ it is," Carlos said, ever the optimist.

However, the fact that Carlos even _knew_ what Kendall and James thought this package was proved that on some level, Carlos thought precisely what the other two were thinking; this was another torture video.

"Let's look at the differences," Carlos suggested. "Okay, one: this is in a manila envelope. The package yesterday was a brown paper package. Two: the address is written in cursive. Yesterday, it was messily written in all capital letters with some of the letters backwards."

"Or maybe whoever said this _wants_ us to think that it's something different when in reality, it's the same thing it was yesterday," James countered.

Granted, James was the only one who knew _what_ was sent to them yesterday having been the only one who watched it in its entirety. Kendall got sick to his stomach and left the room. Carlos broke down and had to leave the room. Mama Knight took Katie and left the room.

"Well, there's only one way to know for sure. Let's open it," Carlos said, eager to prove his friends wrong.

"No! Don't!" Kendall shouted, surprising James, Carlos, as well as himself.

Even the thought of the contents of the package being what Kendall thought it was made the contents of his stomach churn. If he couldn't sit through the first video, what are the odds that he could sit through the second? Besides, Kendall was convinced that sometimes, it was better _not_ knowing.

James and Carlos gave Kendall sympathetic looks. They had picked up on the trepidation in their leader's voice. Kendall was their leader. He wasn't supposed to be afraid of anything. If he was scared, then what were they going to do? Who would lead them? James and Carlos not only _wanted_ their leader back, but they _needed_ their leader back. Without him, the two of them were hopelessly lost.

The three of them were in desperate need of some good news right about now. Officer Garcia had told his son that they couldn't find any prints on Logan's cell phone or anywhere on or in his car. Whoever was responsible for taking Logan was being extremely careful not to make a mistake; he was making extra sure to cover his tracks. This was a cause for concern because that only meant that whoever had taken Logan knew what he was doing.

The thing about Carlos was that when you told him, "no," it only made him want to even more. Sometimes, it was better to just let him do whatever he wanted to do because he would regardless anyways. Soon, he had opened up the package only to come across what appeared to be a DVD.

Carlos was crestfallen. He hated being wrong. He hated looking stupid. Like an idiot, he had foolishly believed that this wasn't another torture video. As it was, he was no Logan, but then when he pulls stuff like this, it only makes him look stupider.

Kendall's body immediately tensed up. He looked like he was ready to bolt at a moment's notice. All the color had drained from his face until he was white as a sheet. This was exactly why he didn't want Carlos to open it!

But by far the most bizarre reaction was James' reaction. He looked at the DVD with what could only be described as a look of longing. Unlike the other two, he was actually _glad_ that this was what they all thought it was.

James quickly snatched up the DVD, and was already heading towards the living room. Kendall and Carlos exchanged a quizzical look with one another before following James. They were befuddled when they saw James put the DVD into the Blu-ray player and turn on the TV. Was he actually going to watch it? They could hardly believe what they were seeing.

"Will you guys watch it with me this time? Please?" James begged.

Kendall was damn near at a loss for words. This wasn't like some home movie filled with fond childhood memories. This was more than likely a video of a demented human being, no a monster, doing unspeakable things to one of their best friends!

"Thanks, but no thanks! I want to see _our_ Logan! Not _that_ Logan!" Kendall responded.

"That Logan _is_ our Logan!" James retorted.

Kendall vehemently shook his head, his eyes starting to prickle with tears. A scaredy cat and a crybaby. Some leader he was turning out to be!

"How can you even watch that? What, do you like seeing Logan get hurt?" Kendall remarked.

James wanted to make some sarcastic reply, but held his tongue. Sarcasm was Logan's thing. If James was sarcastic, that would only make things worse than they already were. So instead, James tried to put into words why it was that he didn't mind watching Logan's torture videos. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was easier said than done.

"Guys, please don't fight!" Carlos pleaded, alarmed that Kendall and James were starting to raise their voices.

James turned his attention toward Kendall, ignoring Carlos.

"It's hard to explain, but it's like seeing Logan even if he's hurt is better than not seeing him at all. Even though horrible things are happening to our best friend, at least we know he's still alive," James explained.

"But we don't know that, James! For all we know, the footage could have been taken a long time ago! Logan could be dead…" Kendall started to reply.

"Don't say it! Don't you dare even think it!"

James' hazel eyes were glimmering with tears. His fists, though clenched, were shaking at his sides. His tall frame was racked by sobs. He felt suffocated by the crushing guilt. He felt as though he had let Logan down. James knew that Kendall was like the protector of the group. However, James also saw himself as a protector. Maybe it was just because he and Kendall were older than Logan and Carlos. Maybe it was just because they were significantly taller than them. But the fact remained that James felt responsible for them.

James' heart swelled with pride as he fondly remembered how he protected Logan from the wrestling team after Logan called them stupid in Latin. Sure, James came out of that altercation worse for wear, but at least Logan had been safe.

How was it though that James could protect Logan from an entire wrestling team, but yet he couldn't protect Logan from _one_ madman?

"Please, you guys? I don't want to watch this by myself," James begged, his hands clasped in front of him.

Kendall felt like the worst friend in the world when he left James in the living room. James was starting to fall apart at the seams, and needed his friends now more than ever, but because of Kendall's sensitive stomach, he couldn't be there for James in the way James wanted him to. Blood made Kendall squeamish. No matter how much James needed him, there was no changing that.

James turned to Carlos, hopeful. The two of them had always been so close. James and Carlos were a lot alike. The two of them did so much together that they were practically attached at the hip.

However, there was one thing that troubled James. When it came to fights and disagreements, Carlos _always_ sided with Kendall. James knew it. Kendall knew it. Logan knew it. Would this time be the exception? Carlos said once that he didn't like making people cry, so would that be the difference maker?

To say that Carlos was torn would be a vast understatement. He looked back and forth between a retreating Kendall and a desperate James. He didn't like being in the middle. He wasn't indecisive like Logan though; Carlos _was_ capable of choosing a side. Carlos frowned both because of the situation and because he had thought of his missing friend.

Kendall had been crying. James was crying. Carlos knew that if he watched the video with James, soon he would be crying too. It's just that he didn't like seeing Logan like that. He didn't like seeing Logan get hurt. In that sense, Carlos agreed with Kendall. Having said that, did Carlos really have the heart to turn his back on James who clearly needed a friend right about now?

"Scoot over," Carlos said, earning him the hugest smile from James.

XXXXX

Carlos and James were sitting so close to one another on the couch that their knees were touching. It wasn't so much that James was holding Carlos. It wasn't so much that Carlos was holding James. It was more like they were holding each other. It was akin to the way a girl grabs onto her boyfriend during a really scary part of a horror movie, but all the time.

James was good for Carlos. He was a light sleeper as it was, so when the younger boy would wake up in the middle of the night, kicking and screaming Logan's name, James was able to respond immediately, being Carlos' roommate, and quickly reassure Carlos that he was okay.

Logan was the last to join the group of friends, but never did the others make him feel like he was an outsider or that he was less important. In fact, the four of them had an unshakable bond that many others aspired to have themselves.

As James and Carlos started to watch the video footage, even they were unprepared for how truly terrified Logan was. Kendall, James, and Carlos would often tease Logan about how he was so scared of everything, but seeing him on camera, he looked like he feared for his life. It was near painful to watch Logan's feeble attempt at fleeing.

Logan had always been a bit of a klutz, but his coordination was practically nonexistent. It would have probably been more efficient for Logan to get up and run rather than drag himself across the floor, which begged the question: why didn't Logan get up? Was he unable to? How badly hurt was Logan?

However hurt Logan was, getting his head repeatedly slammed into the cement floor wasn't helping matters any. Carlos simply couldn't watch anymore, and buried his face in James' chest, his tears dampening the fabric of James' shirt.

"Tell me when it's over," Carlos requested, his voice muffled.

James took some comfort in the fact that Logan was still…Logan. Only Logan would reposition his face prior to each blow in order to keep the damage to his face minimal. Only Logan would make a science out of taking a hit.

James held Carlos' head to his shirt. He stroked the back of the shorter boy's head and neck. However, seeing Logan get mercilessly pounded made James' blood boil, and soon he was no longer stroking Carlos' head but damn near smacking it.

"Ow! James, what gives?" Carlos whined, pulling back, and giving James an alarmed look.

"I'm sorry, Carlitos. Are you okay?" James asked, his gaze so intense that it was like he was looking into Carlos' soul.

The last thing James had meant to do was hurt Carlos. Truth be told, he forgot that he was even stroking the back of Carlos' head and neck at the time. All he could think about was how Logan's kidnapper _deserved_ a slow, painful death. Slitting his throat or putting a gun to his head and blowing his brains out, though quick, wouldn't give James the retribution that he craved.

"I could ask you the same thing," Carlos replied.

James pursed his lips together. Was he really being that obvious? What was he supposed to say to Carlos? That he blamed himself for Logan getting taken in the first place? That he felt like one colossal failure of a friend for not being able to protect Logan this time? That he was deathly afraid of what would happen if he, Carlos, or Kendall got separated from the other two? After all, look at what happened to Logan when he was off on his own.

"James, you have to know that none of this is your fault," Carlos said, snaking his hand behind James' back, and rubbing small circles in his back.

"Then why does it feel like it is?" James replied.

"You're just beating yourself up for no reason at all. There's no way you could have known that something like this would happen to Logan. I'm sure Logan doesn't blame you for what happened either."

James started to entertain the idea that Carlos was right. Maybe James was just being ridiculous. Still though, seeing Logan tortured knowing there was absolutely nothing James could do about it was starting to get to be too much.

Then Carlos and James got to the part of the footage where Trevor was carving letters in Logan's back while Logan tried to guess what was being spelled. Based on the vantage point, James and Carlos could clearly see that Trevor was drawing a "D." However, time and time again, Logan guessed incorrectly.

"What is he doing?" Carlos asked, beating James to the punch.

James was the first to realize that Logan was spelling out a secret message. Trevor had told Logan that his friends were watching. James therefore knew that whatever Logan was trying to say was directed towards them. Logan's cleverness never ceased to amaze James. Had it been Kendall, Carlos, or James in Logan's place, they probably never would have thought to do something so crafty.

"I love you," James said aloud after Logan finished relaying his hidden message.

Carlos arched his eyebrows in confusion. He was trying to determine whether James had meant that in a brotherly way or a more-than-just-friends way. James _was_ talking to him, right? Carlos did a quick scan of the room to see if the two of them were in fact alone, which they were.

"Uh…I love you too?" Carlos said as more of a question than a statement.

"No, Logan was telling us that he loves us," James responded.

Carlos breathed a sigh of relief. That was better. Wait, was that better? Was he just taking this the wrong way? Here Carlos thought Logan was head over heels in love with Camille. Carlos was so confused.

Then Carlos and James were shocked to hear what seemed to be genuine worry for Logan's well-being come from Trevor. They watched with wide eyes as Trevor shouted the name "Lucas" while frantically shaking him, in an attempt to awaken him.

Then the pieces fell right into place for James, and the big picture was crystal clear. Logan wasn't just telling them that he loved them, he was telling them goodbye.

To Be Continued…


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.**

**Doppelganger**

Logan used his hands to shield his eyes from the bright white light that seemed to encompass him. He blinked dazedly as he took in his surroundings. As far as the eye could see, there was white; white walls, white ceilings, white floors. Except for the walls, ceilings, and floors, there wasn't even anything else to be seen.

Next, Logan got a good look at the clothes he was wearing. He had on a white button up shirt, white slacks, and all white sneakers. The odd thing was that he had no such clothes in his wardrobe. Whoever's clothes he was wearing, they weren't his.

The gears in Logan's head were turning as he was already trying to rationalize what was happening. In no time at all, he deduced that one of two things were possible. Either he was dreaming, or he was in Heaven.

If this was all just some dream Logan concocted in his head, that would certainly make sense. Forget how strange the dream was, this couldn't be reality, so it wasn't much of a stretch to think this was all a dream.

The possibility that this was Heaven was bittersweet for Logan. On the one hand, what person doesn't want to end up in Heaven when they die? On the other hand though, being in Heaven means that you are no longer living. Logan didn't want to die yet. There was still much he wanted to do. He had only begun to live.

However, Logan was an indecisive individual. Being in Heaven was a nice change after what he's had to endure as of late. It was a welcome change. For the moment at least, he no longer had to live in a constant state of fear.

Then Logan's thoughts drifted from who he was escaping from to who he was leaving behind. The thought alone caused his eyes to prickle with tears. No matter how much of a relief being wherever he currently was provided, he _had_ to find his way back to his loved ones.

Almost as if on cue, a door appeared out of nowhere in front of Logan. Like everything else, it too was white. However, it did have the most intricate looking doorknob that appeared to be crafted of diamond.

It couldn't be spelled out any clearer for Logan. He had two choices: either he could stay where he was, or he could open the door and see what awaited him on the other side. That was the thing though; there was no telling what was on the other side of the door. Just because the doorknob looked fancy didn't necessarily mean that things will be peachy keen on the other side of the door. Logan's hand froze in mid-air as he reached for the doorknob.

XXXXX

Jolyn Patterson was the nurse in charge of taking care of Logan. Over the years, she had seen more than her fair share of sick and dying patients. However, and maybe it was the fact that he was left outside the doors to the Emergency Room, Logan held a special place near and dear to her heart.

Even though it was a miracle he was even alive given the condition he was brought to the hospital in, Jolyn was far from content; she wanted more still. She wanted him to wake up. She knew that his body was slowly, painstakingly healing itself, and there was _a lot_ to heal.

Of course her biggest fear was that whoever did this to Logan would come back to finish the job. She kept an extra watchful eye on Logan, more than any of her other patients for that very reason.

Granted, she didn't even know his name. She certainly didn't know that he was a part of Big Time Rush. They weren't exactly a household name yet, but they were getting there. For now, he was merely John Doe.

She didn't doubt that Logan would suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The majority of abuse victims do. No doubt, Logan would have to undergo some therapy, but even that would only help marginally. Odds were that whatever Logan went through would haunt him until the day he died.

What was alarming was that Logan was so small. His weight wasn't even in the triple digits. She had no frame of reference to compare it to, but it was enough to know that he was undernourished/malnourished. Having only a sleeve of saltine crackers and a bottle of water a day will do that to you. She had him hooked up to an IV to provide him with sustenance, but its effects were nowhere near as immediate as she would have liked them to be.

It broke her heart that the whole time Logan's been here, not a single person has been by to see him. It made her wonder if he even had any friends or family. It made her wonder if anyone even cared.

"Can you hear me?" Jolyn asked.

Much to her surprise, Logan's eyes opened in response. He squinted, then slowly opened his eyes again as they became accustomed to the light in the room. Her heart leapt for joy now that he was finally awake.

Logan's eyes darted around the room at a frenzied pace looking for any sign of Trevor.

XXXXX

Little did anyone know that while Logan may not have had any visitors per se, someone had been lurking in the shadows outside of and even inside the hospital. It was how Trevor was able to keep tabs on Logan. It was how Trevor knew that he was still alive.

Trevor was legitimately concerned that he had killed him. He was so concerned that he brought him to the hospital. He just left him at the door to the ER because he couldn't risk being seen.

Even though it was a remote possibility, there was still a possibility that someone at the hospital _might_ recognize Trevor. About a decade ago, Trevor rode in the ambulance to this very hospital. At the time, Trevor wasn't the patient; his father was. While Trevor did that, Lucas went to the police to rat out his big brother.

They say that criminals have a tendency of going back to the beginning. Going back to what is familiar to them. As is often the case, this place ends up being the place they were raised; their first home. In this sense, Trevor was no exception. Here he was in his birthplace; a small town just outside of Austin, Texas.

Trevor suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. At times, it seemed as though he had multiple personalities. It's been months, maybe even years since he has taken his medication.

Though not always hereditary, Trevor inherited it from his mother. This, among other reasons, was why his father favored Lucas over him. Trevor was perceived as the freak. Trevor was the one who _wasn't_ normal.

Trevor _used to_ take his meds as prescribed. He used to do everything in his power to impress his father, but it was to no avail. Nothing he did or said was ever good enough for his father. It didn't change the way his father saw Trevor or how he felt about him.

When Trevor's mother committed suicide, his father's hatred towards him increased tenfold. He became a reminder of his mother. Trevor's father couldn't tolerate that. He made no bones about how he despised Trevor.

Then one day, Trevor had taken all he could from his father. One day, when Lucas was at school, Trevor took matters into his own hands. Though he himself was supposed to be at school too, he skipped it that day. There were more important matters to attend to than school. Trevor was taking his life back. The only way to do that was by taking his father's life.

XXXXX

Jolyn helped Logan drink some ice cold water. The teenager drank greedily, the water soothing to his parched throat. He drank a little _too_ greedily as he was overcome by a sputtering cough. Once his coughing fit had subsided, Jolyn had some questions to ask Logan.

"What's your name?" she asked.

This was a particularly loaded question. It served several different purposes. It helped to ascertain whether or not he had suffered any memory loss. However, a less serious purpose that it served was just so Jolyn could finally call him _something_. Lastly, maybe if she knew his name, she could look up his medical records.

Logan was reluctant to answer this question too hastily. It's not that he didn't feel like he could trust _her_; it was Trevor that he didn't trust. Depending on how he answered that very simple question, it _may_ come back to bite him in the butt. The real dilemma he now faced was whether or not he should continue pretending to be Trevor's little brother, Lucas.

It all came back to one thing though: protecting his friends. For all he knew, Trevor was somewhere close by. If Logan said who he really was, then the others would no doubt come to see him. Logan couldn't allow that. The last thing he wanted was for his best friends to be caught in Trevor's crosshairs. So really, the difficult decision wasn't all too difficult.

"Lucas. My name's Lucas," Logan answered.

Jolyn was skeptical. He took way too long to answer such a basic question, which made her think that he wasn't being entirely truthful. It was also bizarre how he didn't say what his full name was. She didn't think that this was a matter of him losing his memory; she was convinced that he was hiding something; maybe even trying to protect someone.

She decided to try a different approach.

"What happened to you? Who did this to you?" she asked.

Logan broke down and cried. He desperately wanted to tell this nurse _everything_. However, he was _terrified_ of what might happen to him if he was _too_ truthful. He hated lying to her, but what other choice did he have?

Jolyn knew this was a long shot. She hadn't really expected him to answer those two questions. In that sense, his silence wasn't much of a surprise. It was textbook really. Victims of abuse are often scared of their abuser, and so they don't rat their abuser out. Of course, sometimes the abused merely don't like to relive their traumatic experience.

"You're safe here. Whoever did this to you isn't going to hurt you anymore," Jolyn said.

Logan inwardly scoffed. He didn't believe that for one second. Logan was no fool. He may be safe _now_, but he would be deluding himself if he thought that he was out of the woods. And really, how safe was he? The frightening thing was that at any time Trevor could waltz into the hospital, and nobody would do anything to stop him. Why would they? They had no reason to believe that he was a threat. If they only knew…

"Lucas, you have to work with me here. I'm trying to help you, but I can't do that if you won't let me," Jolyn stated.

"Don't you get it? You can't help me! No one can!" Logan responded.

It tugged at Jolyn's heartstrings to see that he had just given up; that he felt that he was beyond help. He was still young yet. He shouldn't be so defeated at that age.

"That's not true. I'm going to do everything in my power to help you, Lucas. I promise you that," Jolyn said, her own eyes prickling with tears.

She reached out and took his hand in hers. She couldn't help but notice how he flinched from the physical contact. By now, it had become more of an _involuntary_ response, but it was nevertheless worrisome.

"Is there anyone I can contact? A friend or family member, perhaps?" she asked.

Logan thought about how he would _love_ to talk to Kendall, James, Carlos, or Camille. He wanted to reassure them that he was in fact okay. Although _okay_ was a bit of a stretch. Just to hear any of their voices would be like music to his ears. It's been so long since he's heard their voices that he was starting to forget what they even sounded like.

But there was more to consider than just what he _wanted_. This was like one big game of chess. He couldn't just think on a move-by-move basis. He had to look at the big picture. He had to think about how the moves he made now would set up the moves he could make later down the road. To continue with the chess analogy, Logan felt as though he were a pawn. Pawns had next to no chance of lasting until the end of the chess game, but they _could_ protect the more important chess pieces; even sacrifice themselves for them.

It was with a heavy heart that Logan answered, "Trevor."

Again, Jolyn noticed how Lucas had neglected to give a last name. He didn't even say a phone number that Trevor could be reached at. Her breath hitched in her throat at the mere mentioning of the name Trevor. She chastised herself for being so ridiculous. There was no way Lucas could be talking about the same Trevor.

It was about a decade ago when Jolyn had just started her residency at the hospital. There was a young man by the name of Trevor who came to the hospital with his dying father. What happened next really caused Jolyn to remember the name Trevor. A statewide manhunt began for Trevor after a source claimed that it was Trevor who killed his father.

Jolyn's heart skipped a beat. The source was Trevor's younger brother, Lucas. The patient before her very eyes said that his name was Lucas, and that he had a brother named Trevor. Could _this_ be the same Lucas from all those years ago? Granted, Jolyn had never actually met Lucas in person. But that would mean that Trevor…she now knew who was responsible for Lucas' injuries.

XXXXX

Trevor walked in through the front doors of the hospital. He knew it was a risk returning to the same small town he was raised in, but this town provided a sense of familiarity. It was Trevor's first home.

He wasn't too worried about someone recognizing him. He hadn't stepped foot in this place for over a decade. He didn't look the same as he did ten years ago. And it wasn't like he's been out and about in public. This was the first public setting he's been in since returning.

A receptionist directed Trevor to Lucas' room. If she knew what had transpired between the two, she would have called security instead, but she was completely oblivious. Trevor said that he was his older brother, and that's all the receptionist needed to hear.

"How's he doing?" Trevor asked, standing in the doorway to Logan's room.

Jolyn jumped a bit, unaware that there was anyone else even in the room. Though Logan tried to mask it, his face paled considerably upon once again seeing Trevor.

"I'm Trevor, Lucas' brother," Trevor said, introducing himself.

Jolyn's heart raced. She had just put two and two together. She never anticipated that she would come face-to-face with Trevor so soon. She involuntarily took a protective step in front of Logan. Though she very much wanted to throttle Trevor for what he did to Lucas _and_ his very own father, she knew that she needed to maintain her composure.

Trevor was already suspicious of Jolyn. There was something about the way she took a protective step in front of Lucas; almost like she knew that _he_ was the one that did that to Lucas in the first place. Not to mention there was a spark of recognition in the nurse's eyes.

"So how is he doing?" Trevor repeated.

"He's recovering. If you'll excuse me, I need to check on another patient," Jolyn said, making extra certain to keep her voice calm.

Jolyn made a beeline for the nearest room that had a phone. It was a risk leaving Trevor alone with Lucas, but she _had_ to call the police. If history was any indication, Trevor was an extremely dangerous individual. The only thing was that Trevor _wasn't _alone with Lucas; he had followed Jolyn. Just as she had dialed 911, Trevor appeared in the room, and yanked the phone cord clean out of the wall.

"I can't let you do that," Trevor said.

Jolyn backed away from Trevor until her back was flat against a wall. Her knees were wobbly, her hands were shaking, and her teeth were chattering. She didn't know how, but somehow she knew that he knew she knew.

"Someone h-" Jolyn started to scream before Trevor clamped a meaty paw over her mouth, effectively silencing her.

She used both hands to frantically try to pry Trevor's hand from her mouth. He was smothering her with his bare hands. As scared as she already was of Trevor, the fact that he didn't even need a weapon to off someone made him even scarier.

Trevor felt a sliver bad for what the nurse had forced him to do. He didn't come to the hospital looking to kill someone else. He didn't even consider himself a murderer. The only people he's killed before were his father, and people who _looked_ like his younger brother, Lucas. He never meant to kill the latter though. He merely tortured them so much and so badly until they succumbed to their injuries.

"They say that knowledge is power. I disagree. If you ask me, the less you know, the better. I say that knowledge gets people killed; people like you. I know you know, and I can't have anyone knowing, so you leave me with no choice," Trevor said in a creepy serial killer voice.

Jolyn squirmed, thrashed, kicked, and raked her fingernails across any skin she could. She wanted to tell him that she wouldn't tell anyone. She was willing to tell him anything he wanted to hear, but unfortunately, given her current predicament, she was incapable of speech.

A wicked smile appeared on Trevor's face as he could literally feel the nurse's strength fading away. The second hand ticked on the wall. In less than sixty ticks, Jolyn's body had gone completely limp. Her lifeless eyes were open, still boring into the face of her murderer.

He set Jolyn's corpse on the floor, being careful not to bring any unnecessary attention to himself. As it was, it was a miracle that no one had come when Jolyn started to scream for help. There was still a small piece of business Trevor had to attend to. Trevor returned to Logan's room.

Logan quickly noticed the angry red marks on Trevor's bare forearms and hands. One thing was for sure; whatever happened, he had been in some sort of struggle. Trevor had the battle wounds to prove it. The second thing he noticed was more alarming than the first; Trevor looked angry.

"What did you say to her?" Trevor demanded.

Logan felt bile slowly start to inch its way up his esophagus. There could only be one "her" Trevor could be referring to. The scratches on his forearms and hands. Suddenly, it was clear to Logan what must have just happened; Trevor killed Jolyn. For the first time, Logan regretted not telling Jolyn about his friends when he had the chance. Had he done that, they could have been on their way _right now_. Since he hadn't, they weren't. They probably didn't even have any idea where he was.

"I didn't tell her anything! I swear it!" Logan replied, fearful for his life.

"You're lying! I don't believe you!" Trevor roared.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: All I can say is that I hope the wait was worth it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Woohoo! I'm on a roll now! Let's see if I can keep it up.**

**Disclaimer: Fortunately for Kendall, James, Carlos, and Logan, I do not own Big Time Rush.**

**Doppelganger**

Somewhere along the line, and no one was quite sure when, James started getting the mail instead of Katie. Every single time he hoped to receive yet another package, and each and every time his hopes were dashed. He returned to Apartment 2J empty handed once more.

"Maybe it's a good sign. Maybe this means that Logan's no longer being tortured," Carlos suggested, ever the optimist.

"Yeah, because maybe Logan's already dead, and there is no one left to torture," Kendall commented.

Carlos gasped in horror, and James' jaw dropped to the floor. Neither one of them could hardly believe their ears. It wasn't that long ago that Kendall wouldn't allow _anyone_ to say that Logan was dead; let alone _think_ it.

"I'm just being realistic here. The longer Logan goes missing, the less likely it is that he will survive," Kendall stated.

In that sense, Kendall was like Logan. Carlos was the eternal optimist. James was a dreamer; dreamers believed that _anything_ was possible. Kendall and Logan were different though.

"Okay, so let me get this straight. Not too long ago, you wouldn't let any of us say that Logan was dead. You wouldn't even let us _think_ it. Suddenly, it's okay for _you_ to think it; to say it?" James remarked.

"Pretty much," Kendall answered nonchalantly.

"So we can think it? We can say it?"

"You two can do whatever you want."

It didn't go unnoticed by James or Carlos how Kendall had said _you two_ with such disdain. It was clear that he had lumped the two of them together. This wasn't too surprising though. Ever since they had received Logan's last torture video, Kendall had become cold and distant. He barely even said anything to his own mother and sister anymore.

"What's your problem?" James demanded.

"What's my problem? I'm looking at them! _Both_ of them!" Kendall exclaimed.

Carlos felt as though someone had punched him hard in the gut, knocking all the wind out of him. He knew that there was something off about Kendall as of late, but never in a million years did Carlos think that it had anything to do with him.

"You know something, Kendall? Maybe you're _my_ problem! And to think that you're supposed to be our leader! Some leader you are!" James shot back.

"Guys, please stop fighting!" Carlos pleaded, tears streaming down his face.

"You think you can do a better job as leader, James? Then have at it! Let's see how _you_ do leading a blubbering buffoon and a genius who goes and gets himself killed!" Kendall remarked.

The words barely had enough time to pass through Kendall's lips before James had decked Kendall square in the jaw. The next thing Kendall knew, he was on the floor looking up at a furious James.

"Don't you _ever_ talk about Carlos and Logan like that again!" James warned.

James could handle Kendall talking trash about him. He had thick enough skin to take it. Carlos and Logan were the most sensitive of the group. They were also the most innocent of the group. There was almost an unspoken understanding that when it came to talking smack, Carlos and Logan were off limits. And for Kendall to talk about Logan like that when he wasn't even here to defend himself was all kinds of wrong.

"What have I done to you, Kendall? I haven't done anything!" Carlos cried out.

Kendall picked himself up off the floor. He had a hint of a smirk on his face as he did so. If James and Carlos didn't know any better, it was almost as if Kendall was _enjoying_ this. But that was absurd. Wasn't it?

"Right, because sweet, innocent Carlos couldn't possibly do anything wrong!" Kendall said with biting sarcasm.

Carlos' vision was so clouded by tears that he could hardly even see straight. Sure they had gotten into fights before, but it never got _this_ bad! Carlos didn't understand where all this hatred and resentment was coming from.

"Did that make you sad? Are you going to cry? Go ahead, Carlos. Cry. That's the only thing you're good at!" Kendall remarked.

James came to Carlos' aid, shoving Kendall with all his might. Kendall found himself in a familiar setting again on the floor.

"Back off!" James yelled.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Kendall shouted, rising to his feet, and shoving James back just as hard.

Carlos absolutely hated this. He wanted to get in there and break it up. But truth be told, he was scared he might get hurt if he stepped in the line of fire. Before today, he never thought any of his friends would actually physically harm him. Now, he wasn't so sure.

"Oh, but you can tell us what to do? Get over yourself, Kendall!" James spat.

"This coming from _you_? That's rich!" Kendall remarked.

"Guys, _please_!" Carlos begged, eyes full of tears.

Kendall glowered at Carlos, who withered beneath his gaze. Kendall felt like there was a knife in his back, and it was Carlos who had put it there in the first place. He kept twisting it and twisting it too.

"Shut up, _traitor_!" Kendall said to Carlos.

Carlos didn't understand how he was a traitor like Kendall claimed he was. This was starting to be too much for him. He felt like bolting from the room, curling up in a ball, and crying his eyes out. From the way Kendall was talking to him, it sounded as though Kendall hated him. Carlos didn't even know what he had done wrong. He didn't want to be hated by anybody, let alone someone who was _supposed_ to be one of his best friends.

"You are being such a jerk right now," James said jabbing his finger harshly in Kendall's chest.

"La-dee-da! Like I care!" Kendall replied.

James grabbed one of Carlos' trembling hands, and started leading him out of the room.

"Come on, Carlos. We don't have to put up with this," James said.

It wasn't long after Kendall was alone that he picked up a vase and hurled it against the wall. The vase shattered into a million tiny pieces. He dropped to his knees on the floor, buried his face in his hands, and cried.

XXXXX

Carlos was curled up against James in his bed. He buried his face in James' chest as he sobbed, soaking James' t-shirt with tears. James held onto Carlos as his body was racked with sobs. James gently shushed Carlos.

"It's okay, buddy. Everything's going to be okay. Pay no mind to Kendall," James said.

At the mere mentioning of Kendall's name, Carlos sobbed even harder. Sure Kendall had taken shots at James and even Logan, but if Carlos didn't know any better, he would say that Kendall was the most upset with him.

"What did I do?" Carlos asked, his voice cracking.

"You didn't do anything wrong," James responded reassuringly.

"Kendall hates me, doesn't he?"

"No, Carlos. He's just angry at the world right now."

If James was being completely honest though, he had no idea what was going on with Kendall. He had no idea where all this hostility was coming from. But after what Kendall had just pulled, James felt like he wasn't worth even thinking about for too long.

Carlos was scared that their friendship wouldn't survive. It was hard to believe that after all these years. Carlos wasn't an idiot. He knew that if Logan were here with them now, none of this would have happened. A fresh wave of sobs came over Carlos as he thought about Logan. His heart yearned for his best friend. The thought of never seeing him again…Carlos' heart has never ached so much.

James may not have been able to protect Logan, but he still could protect Carlos. James just never imagined that he would have to protect Carlos from Kendall of all people. He didn't think twice about where his loyalties lie. It was a no-brainer; with Carlos. The two of them had always been close, and now Carlos needed James more than ever.

The only thing that prevented James from finding Kendall and wringing his neck was Carlos. James knew that Carlos wouldn't want him to do that. No matter what Kendall said or did, James inflicting physical pain on Kendall would only hurt Carlos. For whatever reason, Carlos _still_ seemed to care about Kendall even after what he had done.

Carlos couldn't get past one particular thing that Kendall had said to him; he called Carlos a traitor. At first, Carlos didn't know how he could have betrayed Kendall. But now that Carlos had some time to think about it, it suddenly became very clear to him. Kendall was jealous that he and James were spending so much time together. Carlos usually sided with Kendall, but based on who he spent most of his time with, he seemed to be siding with James this time. It was more than that though. Kendall missed Logan. They all did, obviously, but probably none more than Kendall. It was easier for James and Carlos because they still had one another. They were roommates. Kendall didn't have Logan. He was all alone in his room.

"Kendall misses Logan," Carlos said with sage-like wisdom.

"Yeah, we all do!" James replied.

"Yeah, but it's different for Kendall. You and I have each other, but who does Kendall have now that Logan's gone? Nobody."

"He has us!"

"But does he? Does he really? Besides, it's not the same, James! You and I _know_ how close Kendall is to Logan and vice versa. Who looks up to Kendall the most? Who goes to Kendall for advice the most? Logan does. Kendall probably feels like without Logan, no one even needs him anymore."

"You might be right…but it doesn't give him a free pass to act like a jerk, Carlos."

"It doesn't, but maybe we should cut Kendall some slack."

XXXXX

When Katie and Mrs. Knight got back from running errands, they found Kendall plopped on the floor with tears running down his face. As soon as Kendall realized that he was no longer alone, he frantically wiped the tears from his eyes. He couldn't let anyone see him lose his cool like this. He was the leader. He was supposed to be the strong one. He wasn't supposed to cry.

"Baby, is everything okay?" Kendall's mom asked.

"Were you…_crying_?" Katie asked, her heart going out to her big brother.

Kendall laughed it off. "Of course not, baby sister. I'm fine, Mom. I just need to hit the rink by myself for a bit, and clear my head."

Before either Katie or Mrs. Knight had a chance to protest, Kendall made a beeline for his room to get his hockey gear. They soon saw him again for the briefest of moments before he rushed past them in order to get out of the apartment.

Katie was shocked. She had never seen her big brother cry like that before. He tried to hide it, but he wasn't fooling anybody. She didn't understand why he felt that it wasn't acceptable for him to cry. Did he think that crying was some sort of sign of weakness?

There was no worse feeling for a parent than to see your child suffer, but not be able to do anything about it. Kendall needed some help or some support; _something_. It was difficult though when Kendall closed himself off to everyone around him. It was hard when Kendall pretended like everything was okay when it clearly wasn't.

XXXXX

Kendall was whirring around the hockey rink on his skates. He was skating as fast as he could. The only thing he was thinking about was pushing his limits; going faster and faster. At least if he focused solely on that, he wouldn't think about Logan and how much he missed him.

The more he tried _not_ to think about Logan, the more Kendall thought about Logan. Soon, he was skating too fast for him to handle. He slammed into the boards. His body crumpled against the ice. The sensation of physical pain was a welcome change. It certainly beat the practically ever present emotional pain.

Kendall didn't even bother standing up again. He just lay there on the ice. As refreshing as the physical pain was, he wasn't going to make a habit of this. That was reckless and not to mention plain stupid.

Kendall felt like such a failure. He probably couldn't have failed Logan more if he tried. He felt like he was losing himself, but also control of himself. He was spiraling out of control, and it was now to the point where it was almost like someone else had taken over his mind and body, and Kendall was powerless to do anything but watch as events unfolded.

He didn't doubt that James and Carlos hated him right about now, and why wouldn't they? After the things he said and done to them. After their huge blowout. It just killed Kendall to see James and Carlos bonding with one another over this experience. They were always hanging out with each other, and only each other. Not once did they try to include Kendall.

In the back of Kendall's mind, he knew that James and Carlos weren't _entirely _to blame. He had been closing himself off to them, and not just them either. But that was only because Kendall was mad at everything and everybody, including himself. None of this should have happened! They should never have let any of this happen!

It was selfish of Kendall to believe that Logan meant more to him than he did to either James or Carlos, but Kendall _did_ feel like Logan was one-fourth of James and one-fourth of Carlos whereas with Kendall, Logan was half of him. So since Logan was gone, half of Kendall was also gone.

He wanted to be optimistic. Logan was a smart guy. Maybe he could outthink his kidnapper. Maybe he could outsmart him. But, and this is what pained Kendall, Logan was kind of weak. If it came down to a brawl, Logan stood next to no chance. He was one of the smallest, and so his threshold of pain probably wasn't as high.

"Logan, please come back to us. Please come back to _me_. I don't know how much longer I can continue to go on like this," Kendall said out loud as he let his tears fall freely now that he was truly alone.

To Be Continued…


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Nope. I still don't own anything.**

**Doppelganger**

A part of Logan was fearful for his life. The other part of Logan held onto the tiniest hope that Trevor wouldn't put him in mortal peril because he sincerely believed that he was his brother, Lucas. All of Logan was terrified of Trevor right about now though.

"I'll ask you one more time; what did you say to her?" Trevor demanded.

"I promise I didn't say anything to her!" Logan wailed.

Trevor kept shaking his head over and over again like he had some sort of twitch or something. He could feel his blood pressure rising. He didn't like being lied to, especially by his kid brother.

"You had to have said _something_! She knew who I was! Did you tell her who I was?" Trevor inquired.

"All I told her was that my name's Lucas, and that you're my brother, and your name is Trevor," Logan finally admitted.

Alas, Trevor got the confirmation he had been seeking. He suspected Lucas had said something. It was _way_ too convenient for the nurse to have figured it all out on her own! Now Trevor felt like putting his fist through a wall…or Lucas' face.

"Lucas, Lucas, Lucas. Why did you say that? You really shouldn't have said that! Now I'm going to have to punish you. From now on, you don't say anything, and I mean _anything_, to _anybody_. Do I make myself clear?" Trevor warned as he drew nearer to a cowering Logan.

Logan lowered his head, and averted his gaze. His breath hitched in his throat at the mere mentioning of punishment. What could Trevor possibly do to him that he hasn't already? Or maybe he didn't care if he's already done one type of punishment; it won't stop him from using it again.

"Understood," Logan said meekly.

"You know what happened to that nurse you told? I killed her. She's dead because of you; because she knew too much," Trevor said before chuckling.

Logan's face turned as white as a sheet. He felt bile slowly start to worm its way up his esophagus. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he was responsible for Jolyn's death. It was like Trevor said; if Logan hadn't told Jolyn anything, she probably would still be alive. But the worst part was that if Trevor could kill a nurse for knowing too much, _anybody_ was fair game. He really had to be careful what he told people now. Logan was starting to give serious thought to not talking at all. If he didn't talk, then no one would find out anything, and they wouldn't have to die unnecessarily.

"We can't stay here any longer. We have to find some place else to go," Trevor said before he proceeded to rip the IV and various wires out of Logan as he whimpered in pain.

XXXXX

"Go! Go! Go!" Trevor exclaimed.

Trevor and Logan were fleeing from the hospital. What really brought attention to the fact that this was an escape was that Logan was still in his hospital gown. This was a spur of the moment decision, so Trevor hadn't even brought a change of clothes for his "brother."

"Hey, what are you two doing? Get back here!" one of the hospital security guards said.

But Trevor had other ideas. Usually, he had all his bases covered when he planned something out. Usually, even his backup plans had backup plans. This _wasn't_ one of those instances. He hadn't planned on killing anyone today, but now that he has, it was only a matter of time until the nurse's dead body was discovered. It was no longer safe for _him_ to stay here.

For the first time since Logan had been kidnapped, he realized where he was at. He saw he was at the Austin Hospital. The two of them ran out to the parking lot where Logan noticed that all of the parked vehicles had Texas license plates. Now, if only there was some way to relay this information to Kendall, James, and Carlos. Even if they didn't stay in Austin, it would give them some place close to start. It was better than nothing. It was better than trying to find a needle in a haystack. It was more like trying to find one particular pin in a pin cushion.

As luck would have it, there was a vehicle just about to pull out of the parking lot. Trevor ran up to the silver Ford Windstar and elbowed the driver's side window, effectively shattering it. The driver, a thirty-something black woman, screamed. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"Get out of the car!" Trevor ordered.

The poor woman fumbled with the door handle as she tried to move as fast as her terrified self would allow. Shards of glass had sliced her in several locations: her face, neck, and arms receiving the brunt of it.

"What are you waiting for? Get in the car!" Trevor screamed at Logan.

Logan mouthed, "I'm sorry" to the frightened woman as he ducked his head inside the passenger side door.

The woman didn't have to be a genius to know that the bigger guy had broken the smaller guy out of the hospital. Based on the way the bigger one was screaming at the other, _he_ was calling the shots. The teenager looked to be _almost_ as scared as she felt at that moment.

Tires screeched as Trevor peeled out of the hospital parking lot just as the security guards had made it outside.

XXXXX

Logan took some comfort in the fact that Trevor was starting to get sloppy. Even if they got far away from Austin, Texas, all it would take was a little bit of investigating to catch their trail. All Logan had to do was point them in the right direction. Otherwise, it would seem that all these events that had created a commotion were unrelated to Logan's kidnapping.

Logan counted on the fingers of one hand the number of slip ups Trevor has had in a span of what, a few hours at the most? Murdering a nurse. Breaking a patient out of the hospital. Carjacking.

While Trevor was planning his next move, Logan was planning _his_ next move. He didn't have a very big window of opportunity because he highly doubted that Trevor would let him out of his sight for too long. However, Logan figured that eventually the stolen vehicle would run out of gas. When that happened, they would need to pull into a gas station to fill up. Hopefully, Trevor would go _in_ the gas station. Logan's plan depended entirely on this. If Trevor did go into the gas station, all Logan had to do was find a payphone, and call one of his friends.

This is where Logan had a very difficult decision to make. Which of his friends should he call? He didn't doubt that the conversation wasn't going to last very long. He would probably have _only_ enough time to tell whoever he decided to call where he was, so they knew where to start looking.

Logan's initial thought was to call Kendall. Though Carlos and James obviously missed him too, Logan suspected that Kendall missed him the most. Logan had a sobering thought. What if the friendship between the others was in shambles? What if choosing one of three of his friends took on a whole new meaning? Maybe the three of them weren't even living together anymore.

The more Logan contemplated calling Kendall, the more he wondered if Kendall had lost his cool already. When he lost his cool, Kendall was downright scary to be around. When this happened, Kendall tended to say some pretty hurtful things. If what Logan feared happened _actually_ happened, then Kendall probably wouldn't even _tell_ Carlos and James were he to call him. Logan couldn't risk that. He didn't want just one person to know. He wanted whoever he told to spread the word.

Logan's thoughts then drifted to Carlos. That practically made Carlos the ideal candidate. Carlos couldn't keep a secret to save his life. If Logan were to call Carlos, it would only be a matter of time before _everyone_ found out about it. That is precisely what Logan _wanted_ to happen too!

As discreet as he could be, Logan did a quick scan of the interior of the vehicle. He spotted what he had been searching for; some loose change in the cup holder. That would be enough for Logan to use a payphone. Now, Logan could do nothing else but sit and wait for his opportunity to _hopefully _come.

XXXXX

Trevor inwardly cursed when he saw the gauge on the fuel meter was hovering over "E." He pulled into the next available gas station to fill up. While Trevor hated this turn of events, this was _exactly_ what Logan had been waiting for.

Trevor _could_ just use a credit card to pay for the gasoline, except there were two huge problems with that: one, it would leave a trail. All someone would have to do is have a credit check done, and they would be able to pinpoint Trevor and also Logan. Two, Trevor didn't have a credit card, so even if he _wanted_ to, he couldn't use a credit card.

Of course there was one glaring problem with Trevor going inside the gas station to pay with cash; it would give "Lucas" an opportunity to pull something. He couldn't ask for a better opportunity. Trevor didn't exactly trust his little brother right now. The whole road trip so far, Lucas hadn't made the slightest bit of fuss. In Trevor's experience, when something seemed too good to be true, it probably wasn't.

He still had one card he could play though: the intimidation card.

"I have to go inside to pay for the gas, little bro. You stay here, and don't try anything. I don't want to hurt you, but if you try to pull something, you will leave me with no other choice," Trevor warned.

Logan nodded his head in understanding. He was fully aware of what misfortune no doubt awaited him should something go wrong with his plan. It involved physical harm…to him.

Logan waited until Trevor had completely disappeared into the gas station before undoing his seat belt. His heart raced, and his hands shook as he fumbled with the door handle after grabbing the necessary change. He nearly fell flat on his face as he scrambled for a payphone he had seen a couple hundred yards back. It was weird in this day and age that payphones even still existed, but Logan was ever so thankful. He didn't have his cell phone. He had no other way of communicating.

XXXXX

Carlos' cell phone rang once. Twice. Three times. _Pick up, Carlos! Pick up!_ Logan figured it would be just his luck that Carlos wouldn't answer. He was starting to think that he had blown his opportunity when someone _did_ answer.

"Hello?" said a very confused-sounding Carlos.

Logan's eyes welled up with tears at the mere sound of Carlos' voice. He hadn't heard it in so long that it truly was like music to his ears. A sob seemed to resonate from deep within Logan's throat.

"Carlos, it's me. It's Logan," Logan said, trying to speak as clearly as possible, all things considered.

Now it was Carlos' eyes that were getting moist. As great as it was for Logan to hear Carlos' voice, it was just as good, if not better, for Carlos to hear Logan's voice. It was a good thing Logan chose to call Carlos too. Had it been James or Kendall, they probably wouldn't believe that it was Logan they were talking to. Carlos, on the other hand, didn't doubt it for one second. If the person on the other end says it's Logan, then it's Logan. Besides, it _sounds_ like Logan, and that's good enough for Carlos.

"Where are you? Are you okay? Everyone's been worried sick about you!" Carlos said, spouting out one thing after another in a seemingly endless stream. "We all miss you! _I _miss you!"

Logan knew coming into this that this would be an extremely emotional experience, but Carlos was _really _making it difficult for him to speak coherently. Forget that. Carlos was making it extremely difficult for Logan to _think_ coherently. Logan shook himself from his muddled thoughts.

"Carlos, I don't have much time to talk. Do you remember what we used to take on road trips when we were kids?" Logan asked.

"A cooler?" Carlos replied.

Logan slapped his forehead with his hand. While true, that wasn't where Logan was going at all.

"Snacks, Carlos! Snacks!" Logan exclaimed, frustration imminent in the tone of his voice.

To say that Carlos was confused would be a vast understatement. Here Logan said that he didn't have much time to talk, and now he was asking him about the snacks they took on road trips when they were kids? What did that have to do with anything? And how was _that_ important?

Though their menu of road trip snacks had changed drastically over the years, there was one staple food item that remained. Logan knew this. Carlos knew this as well.

"Cheese and peanut butter crackers," Carlos answered.

"Right, but they weren't any ordinary cheese and peanut butter crackers. Were they, Carlos?" Logan asked.

"I don't understand."

Logan nervously glanced back in the direction of the gas station. He didn't see any sign of Trevor…_yet_. That could very well change at the drop of a dime though.

"They were _Austin_ cheese and peanut butter crackers, Carlos! _Austin_!" Logan said, somewhat exasperated.

That was the one downside to involving Carlos in his plan. Sometimes he was a little…slow…on the uptake. Logan could spell something out in black and white, and Carlos still wouldn't understand. This was one of those occasions.

"Oh yeah! Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers! That was the brand name! I remember now!" Carlos said proudly.

Carlos still didn't get what Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers had to do with anything. It was like red plus blue equals llama. Carlos couldn't make any sense of it, but when he told Kendall and James, maybe they could. Two heads were better than one, and three heads were better than two.

Logan's heart dropped when he saw Trevor start to emerge from the gas station. No! He needed more time! He had a feeling Carlos didn't get what he was hinting at yet! He needed to make sure Carlos understood! He might not get another chance like this again!

"I have to go, but remember, Carlos: Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers. Austin. Don't forget it's Austin!" Logan said before abruptly hanging up on Carlos though it pained him to do so.

"Logan, wait! Don't hang up! Logan? Logan!" Carlos shouted into his phone.

The world spun around at a dizzying pace. Fresh tears cascaded down Carlos' tan cheeks. Why did Logan have to go all of a sudden? Who was Carlos kidding? Logan was probably in trouble. He risked getting himself into trouble to call him. It was a lot of pressure on Carlos' shoulders. Carlos didn't know if he could handle it. But that wasn't even the worst part; the worst part was that Carlos never got to tell Logan that he loved him. And even worse than that, Carlos didn't know if he would get another chance ever again.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Okay, so the ending was admittedly kind of ambiguous. Does Carlos mean that he loves Logan as a friend? Or was it meant in a slashy way? But you all know me. I love ambiguity. Probably too much. Looking ahead, how will Kendall and James react when they find out that Logan called Carlos instead of them? Find out in the next chapter. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm sorry it's been over a week since I updated. I've been feeling under the weather since this past Monday. I actually had to call in sick for the first time since I transferred, and I missed Monday and Tuesday. Naturally, with me, a sickness is never a twenty-four hour thing, so it is still lingering. I know that sounds like an excuse, but it's the honest to goodness truth.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything worth owning. **

**Doppelganger**

Kendall and James weren't exactly sure _what_ to make of Carlos' behavior. Under any other circumstance, they wouldn't give it a second thought, but with everything as it was, it was the first time in a long time that Carlos was actually acting like…well, Carlos. Their helmet-wearing best friend was literally having a hard time containing his excitement. He wasn't _quite_ bouncing off the walls, but darn near it.

"So what's this good news that you won't shut up about?" James asked, playfully socking Carlos in the shoulder.

Kendall couldn't get over the fact that Carlos was even _speaking_ to him. The more he thought about it though, the less surprised he was. Carlos was far too innocent to hold a grudge for too long. Nevertheless, Kendall was extremely relieved that there was even the slightest chance to salvage their friendship.

"Logan called me. Can you believe that? He actually called me!" Carlos said, grinning from ear to ear.

The reactions of Kendall and James couldn't have been more different. Whereas James was elated, bounding over to Carlos and lifting him up off the ground, twirling him around in an enthusiastic hug, Kendall was more…stoic.

Kendall was trying to wrap his head around the notion that the first time Logan talks to any of them, _he_ wasn't the person Logan called. Kendall _was_ the person Logan looked up to the most, wasn't he? Kendall _was_ the person Logan went to for advice, was he not? A vein on the side of Kendall's neck throbbed, becoming more and more pronounced by the second.

"How do you know it was Logan? They could have used one of those voice enhancing thingamajigs to make whoever it was _sound_ like Logan," Kendall uttered.

"Why can't you just be happy? This is big!" James replied.

Truth be told, Kendall wasn't sure he had the capacity to _be_ happy anymore. It seemed as though his happiness was contingent upon having Logan in his life. The last time he was ever truly happy, Logan wasn't missing.

"Okay, fine. Say it _was_ Logan. We're no closer to finding him now than we were before Carlos talked to him," Kendall pointed out.

That reminded Carlos of something.

"Actually, we might be. Logan said something to me, but it didn't make much sense to me. Maybe it will to you guys though," Carlos said.

"What was it?" James asked.

Kendall's blood was boiling. It was like Carlos was rubbing Kendall's face in the fact that _Carlos_ was the one Logan called. Carlos! Of the three of them, Logan called _Carlos_?! Kendall was not only infuriated, but also insulted.

"He kept talking about those Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers we used to take on road trips when we were kids," Carlos responded.

Kendall and James exchanged knowing looks with one another. Kendall nodded his head, signaling that they were on the same wavelength. For the first time in a long time, Kendall felt hopeful. Carlos was right. This _was_ big!

"He was telling us where he is, Carlos. Austin, Texas," Kendall stated.

"Well, why didn't he just say that in the first place?" Carlos asked, eyebrows arched.

"Who knows why Logan does half the things he does?" James said dismissively, earning him grins from his two best friends, even Kendall…sort of.

There was a strong possibility that Logan might not be in Austin anymore. Even so, it gave them a place to start looking. Even if he wasn't in Austin anymore, he couldn't be far.

The next thing Kendall and Carlos knew, James had left the room, having dialed Officer Garcia's phone number. He couldn't wait to tell him the latest development. The sooner they got police to Austin, the closer they would get to finally finding Logan.

"Why do I get the feeling that you aren't as happy as me and James?" Carlos asked, worriedly.

"Gee, I don't know, Carlos. Maybe it has to do with the fact that _you_ were the person Logan called!" Kendall exclaimed.

Carlos frowned. Coming into this, he knew there was the risk that the others might not be so thrilled with Carlos being the one Logan called. Being naïve as he was though, Carlos thought that the good news would outweigh that.

"What does it matter _who_ he called? He called us!" Carlos responded.

"It matters to me, Carlos! Besides, it's easy for you to say that! You were the one Logan called in time of need!" Kendall said bitterly.

Every instinct was telling Carlos to go over to Kendall and comfort him, but as he drew nearer, Kendall gave him a death glare that froze Carlos in his tracks. His lips were quivering. He couldn't believe this turn of events. He was supposed to be happy that they finally heard from Logan. Instead, he was saddened by the fact that he had disappointed Kendall once more. Their friendship was on shaky enough ground without Carlos messing things up even further.

"I don't care if it's selfish, but _I_ wanted to be the one Logan called! _I _wanted to be the first person to hear Logan's voice on the phone! _I _wanted to be the one Logan called in times of crisis! Do you know how jealous I am of you that you got to hear Logan's voice instead of me?" Kendall fumed.

"Do you realize how unfair you are being right now? I have no control over who Logan does or doesn't call, yet here you are getting mad at me for something that Logan did! Do you even hear yourself?" Carlos retorted.

Carlos hated getting into confrontations. He usually did his best to avoid any sort of confrontation. He usually was the one trying to be the peacekeeper. Now he found himself diving head first into a confrontation with Kendall. Carlos couldn't stop his hands from shaking. His palms were sweaty. His heart felt like it would thud right through his chest. He had a hard time breathing.

"So would you rather I be mad at Logan? Well, guess what? I am! Add him to the list of people that have betrayed me. Just when I thought I pulled the knife out of my back, another _former_ best friend plunges it right back in!" Kendall remarked.

"If you're short on best friends, it's no one's fault but your own!" Carlos replied.

Carlos couldn't believe that Kendall was actually mad at Logan. He had far more serious, life-threatening things to worry about than to fret over a best friend being upset with him. The fact that Kendall admitted to being mad at someone who had been kidnapped was utterly despicable.

"I don't get why Logan called you! I mean you didn't even make sense of the hint Logan gave you because you're too stupid to figure it out on your own!" Kendall commented.

Often when they bicker with each other, they would call one another stupid, but they don't usually ever mean it. However, based on the venom in Kendall's voice, he _definitely_ meant it this time! Insulting his intelligence was pretty much a low blow.

"I'm not stupid! I don't even know why I bothered telling you that I heard from Logan! Had I known you would act this way, I would've kept this information from you!" Carlos said, trying desperately to keep his tears at bay.

"See? You were too stupid to keep your talk with Logan from me! I rest my case," Kendall added.

"Don't call Carlos stupid! Take it back!" James said, reemerging in the room.

Kendall wasn't the slightest bit surprised that the two of them were ganging up on him. That was practically par for course nowadays. No one had Kendall's back. Not really. Not that he _needed_ anyone to have his back though! He was fine on his own!

"But it's true, James! You and I knew that Logan was hinting at his location when he was talking about Austin cheese and peanut butter crackers. Carlos, on the other hand, needs things to be spelled out for him in black and white," Kendall replied.

"Why are you being like this? Huh? This is supposed to be a joyous occasion! Instead, here you are lashing out at us again," James commented.

"Technically, I haven't lashed out at you yet, but I can change that if you want me to. Come on, James. You can't honestly tell me that you're not bothered by the fact that Logan called Carlos instead of you."

Carlos blinked his eyes in rapid succession. Was Kendall trying to get James to turn on Carlos? It certainly seemed that way. Carlos felt sick to his stomach over the thought of Kendall actually being successful. He didn't know what he would do if James were to turn on him.

"If you ask me, _you_ are the one being stupid now, Kendall! Logan could've called you. He could've called me. He could've called any of us. He called Carlos. So what? Big deal. All that _should_ matter is that he called us, period!" James exclaimed.

Carlos breathed a huge sigh of relief. He was beyond glad that James still had his back. He already had one best friend missing. He couldn't lose another best friend.

"Quit lying to us, James! Quit lying to yourself! I know you. You're by far the most selfish individual in the room! I know it's tearing you up inside that Logan didn't call _you_ first! I know it kills you just like it's killing me!" Kendall said.

"Stop it! What are you doing? Are you trying to get James to hate me? I have a better idea. Why don't we just hate you instead? It shouldn't be hard for any of us. You're making it so easy already!" Carlos said, raising his voice.

Kendall scoffed.

"Please, Carlos! You don't hate me. You don't have a mean bone in your body. You don't have it in you to hate anyone," Kendall remarked.

"Wanna bet?" Carlos retorted.

James was ashamed of himself. He knew that Kendall was just goading him, but as much as James hated to admit it, it was working. Why didn't Logan call James first? Did it mean that Logan valued his friendship with Carlos more than the rest of them? Was James not as important to Logan as Carlos?

Kendall looked over at James, and saw that he was struggling. It seemed as though there was some sort of inner battle going on inside of James. That thought alone brought a satisfied smirk to Kendall's face.

"Kendall's right," James said.

Carlos blinked in astonishment. There was a tightness in his chest.

"It sucks that Logan didn't call me!" James elaborated.

"James," Carlos half-said, half-sobbed.

James hated making people cry, least of all Carlos. However, he too was jealous of Carlos. He too wished that it was him that Logan had called instead.

"You don't get how we feel, Carlos. You'll never know how we feel. Why? Not because you're stupid, but because Logan called _you_." James explained.

"But you just said that it doesn't matter _who_ Logan called! All that mattered was that Logan called!" Carlos cried out.

"Yes, but-"

"Well how can it be both?"

James frowned. He was starting to regret being candid. He didn't mean to hurt Carlos' feelings. He didn't mean to make it seem like he was betraying Carlos. That wasn't his intention at all. Maybe James should have kept his mouth shut.

"Look, Carlos. I-" James started to say.

"Don't, James! Just…_don't_!" Carlos said, cutting James off.

Carlos couldn't remain in the same room as James and Kendall, so he bolted. He couldn't even look at the two of them anymore. Kendall attacked him personally. And James…he just seemed to jump ship out of the blue. Now Carlos was the odd man out. He wished that Logan was here with him. At least that way, he wouldn't be alone.

Kendall walked over to James, and put a hand on his shoulder. James was quick to brush it off though.

"There, there, James. You still have me," Kendall said.

This apartment was crazy. Things changed by the hour. James was desperate to _not_ be alone. He and Carlos were no longer tight, through no one's fault but James'. That only left one viable option: Kendall. James had a feeling that was _exactly_ what Kendall wanted too.

"This is what you wanted, wasn't it?" James asked.

"Well, you weren't going to leave Carlos, so I had to get Carlos to leave you," Kendall answered.

"What's your problem? Why are you acting like this?"

"I don't have a problem. I get it, James. I feel your pain. As happy as I want to be that we heard from Logan, I…can't. There's this bitter, nagging voice in the back of my head that resents Carlos. I know you feel the same way. I know you can relate. That's our common ground."

"Just so we're clear, I don't _resent_ Carlos."

"But you do kind of wish Logan had called you though, don't you?"

"Well, yeah."

"Common ground, James. Common ground."

To Be Continued…


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Time Rush. If I did, you wouldn't just now be finding out about it. **

**Doppelganger**

Logan ran like he's never ran before. His welfare depended entirely on making it back to the vehicle before Trevor. If he didn't, well…Logan couldn't afford to think like that. He _had_ to make it back before Trevor. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it.

With one final burst of speed, Logan opened the passenger side door, and launched himself into the automobile, promptly shutting the door behind him. Thinking he had been successful, he breathed a colossal sigh of relief; that relief was short-lived though.

"Where have you been? What did you do?" Trevor demanded, startling Logan.

In all truthfulness, Logan was surprised Trevor didn't scare the pee out of him. The teenager's heart was racing. The gears in his head were turning as he frantically tried to come up with an explanation on the spot; preferably one that _wouldn't_ get him into trouble.

"I had to stretch my legs. It's been a long car ride," Logan replied, his eyes glued to the floor mat beneath his feet.

Trevor studied Logan carefully. If the expression on his face was any indication, he looked far from convinced. His fingers twitched, wanting to curl up into a fist. There were several things Trevor didn't like; one of which was being lied to.

"Then why are you so jumpy?" Trevor inquired.

"Because I'm sure if it were up to you, I'd be locked inside when you weren't around," Logan answered.

Trevor's fury increased exponentially. There was something about the way his little brother spoke that rubbed Trevor the wrong way. It was almost like Lucas was talking back to him. But surely, he couldn't be talking back to him. That would be suicide.

Logan was glad when Trevor's attention shifted back to the gasoline, as it had finished pumping. It wasn't until Trevor's back was turned to him that Logan realized he had been holding his breath. He exhaled deeply. He hadn't meant to upset Trevor. He didn't have a death wish.

Logan's eyes didn't leave Trevor once as he watched him walk around to the back of the vehicle, and pop the trunk. He rummaged around the contents for something, Logan knew not what. After apparently finding it, Trevor slammed the trunk shut with more force than was necessary, causing Logan to jump yet again. Trevor walked back around the vehicle, and flung a duffel bag at Logan.

"Put those on," Trevor ordered.

Logan unzipped the duffel bag only to find what could only be considered some of Trevor's clothes. There was something belittling to Logan about not even being able to wear _his own_ clothing. By eyeballing it alone, Logan could already tell that these clothes would be far too big for him. Trevor was a big guy, and Logan…well he wasn't.

It was unsettling for Logan to be forced to get dressed in front of Trevor. Practically every hair on Logan's body stood on end. The scared boy got goose bumps. He shuddered. Sure, Trevor was watching to make sure Logan didn't try to pull something, but he didn't doubt that Trevor was watching for…other reasons. Logan got a creepy vibe from Trevor. He wouldn't put it past him to commit incest even though they weren't _technically_ brothers.

Logan wondered why it took Trevor so long to think of having him change clothes into something less conspicuous than a hospital gown. Maybe it wasn't as important as getting the heck out of dodge and away from the cops. Or maybe Trevor wasn't playing with a full deck of cards. That certainly wouldn't surprise Logan one bit.

As Logan changed clothes, he felt Trevor's eyes roaming over his body the whole time. This only caused Logan to get dressed even quicker. It was almost like he was trying to set some world record for a wardrobe change. He had changed in front of other guys before in the locker room, but those were other boys _his_ age; not sadistic psychopaths.

It wasn't at all surprising when Logan couldn't poke his hand out through the too-big sleeve. He got an uneasy feeling about why Trevor selected a _long-sleeved_ shirt. Long sleeves could easily hide any injuries on Logan's arms.

Logan felt like he was swimming in his pants that he put on. The pants kept falling off Logan's slender waist. He had to use one of his hands to keep them around his hips. He never felt smaller before in his life.

"Those will have to do until we can get you some clothes of your own," Trevor said.

Logan wasn't going to hold his breath. He didn't count on getting his own clothes anytime in the near future. That would involve Trevor spending money on him, and why on Earth would he do that?

XXXXX

Logan's stomach growled. He didn't even remember when was the last time he had a decent meal to eat. He honestly didn't know how a big guy like Trevor could go so long without eating. Surely, he had to be hungry too. A part of Logan wanted to say something to Trevor, but Logan knew deep down that he had no control over whether or not he could satiate his hunger.

Almost as though on cue, Trevor pulled into a fast food drive thru. He didn't even ask Logan what he wanted; he just ordered a super sized combo for himself. As always, Trevor made sure he paid in cash. Logan wondered where Trevor got all this cash from. As far as he knew, Trevor didn't have a job. A chilling thought came to Logan. Did Trevor rob people to acquire this money?

It took every ounce of willpower Logan had _not_ to plead the fast food employee for help. Doing that in front of Trevor would probably be the _least_ intelligent move Logan could make. He had gone a long time without Trevor physically harming him; Logan planned on keeping it that way.

It wasn't long before they were back on the road again. The aroma of a cheeseburger and French fries assaulted Logan's nostrils. His mouth watered as he longingly watched Trevor devour the fast food while driving. It may not be physical, but watching him consume fast food in front of him was another form of torture.

"There might be a couple of fries in the bottom of the bag. You can have those, little bro," Trevor said.

Logan wasn't going to look the gift horse in the mouth. It was a couple more fries than he ever imagined he would get to have. He crammed the foodstuffs into his eager mouth, immediately savoring the crunchy, potato-y goodness. This was hands down, the most delicious thing he had eaten since he had been kidnapped. In no time at all, there was nothing more for Logan to eat. His stomach rumbled again, wanting more, but Logan knew that he wouldn't be getting any more.

XXXXX

It wasn't long after spotting the "Welcome to Louisiana" sign that Trevor pulled off on the side of the country road. Logan was confused as to why Trevor had decided to stop all of a sudden.

"Get out of the car!" Trevor barked.

Logan had a feeling he knew what awaited him: a beating. He should have known better than to think that Trevor would let him go unpunished for all that he had done; telling Jolyn Trevor's name and his name; leaving the vehicle to "stretch" his legs.

"I'm not asking twice!" Trevor shouted.

Logan's knees wobbled as he clambered out of the automobile. He hung his head low as he cowered in fear. Logan had never been more scared of anyone in his life as he was of Trevor.

"Don't think that I've forgotten about all the shit you pulled! I was just waiting for the right time and place to put you in your place! With no witnesses around, here and now is as good of a time and place as any!" Trevor commented.

Trevor's eyes scanned around him for anything he could possibly use as a weapon. Not that he even needed a weapon to punish his defiant little brother. His gaze lingered on a barbed wire fence. Trevor's eyes lit up as a malicious smirk crossed his chubby face.

He threw Logan in a headlock that was far from playful. Trevor had him in a vise-like grip. Logan struggled and squirmed with all his might, but he wasn't going anywhere. Soon, Logan's face started to turn blue due to the lack of oxygen his brain was receiving.

The teenager was drifting in and out of consciousness. He wasn't even standing of his own volition. His body was practically limp in Trevor's ample arms. Tears leaked from the corners of Logan's eyes as he just wanted the pain to stop; and the nightmare to be over. Only this was no nightmare.

It was at this point in time that Trevor decided to rake Logan's face across the barbed wire fence. Logan didn't even need to squeeze his eyes shut. They were already closed. When the delicate skin on his face made contact with the barbed wire, Logan was certainly conscious for that. He screamed bloody murder.

Logan felt the blood seep out of the fresh cuts all over his face. His face felt like it had been set ablaze. Liquid crimson gushed down Logan's face. He could taste it in his mouth. He could feel it get into his nostrils. He could feel it pass over his eyelids that were clenched tightly.

Mercifully, Trevor released his hold on Logan. The boy fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. With trembling hands, Logan futilely tried to stop his face from bleeding. His petite frame was racked by a slew of sobs.

"Just let me die!" Logan moaned.

The salt in Logan's tears only exasperated the myriad injuries to his face. Just like he couldn't stop bleeding, Logan couldn't stop crying. Why was this happening to him? Why was fate being so cruel to him? What had he done to deserve any of this?

"Oh my God! Lucas, what happened?" Trevor asked, his tone markedly gentler.

Trevor gathered who he thought was his little brother in his arms, and rocked him back and forth. He gently shushed him even though it did no good. Trevor had a horrified look on his face as he took in the sorry state of Lucas' face.

XXXXX

Logan woke up and found himself in what could only be described as a dive of a motel. There were cobwebs on the walls. A hodgepodge of awful stenches filled the dimly lit motel room. The bed was probably no more comfortable than sleeping on the floor would have been.

Logan noticed that his face had been bandaged. Only his eyes and lips were exposed. His face, even now, throbbed in pain. In numerous spots, it felt as though the skin on his face was hanging by a thread. More than anything, Logan wanted to scratch his face, but he was concerned that would snip the thread.

The last thing Logan noticed was that he was sharing a bed with Trevor. Upon taking in the shoddy motel room, he realized that was because there was only one bed in the room. Still, Logan wasn't exactly fond of sharing a bed with his kidnapper. Naturally, Logan was scared that he had been taken advantage of while he was unconscious. The thought alone sent a shiver up and down Logan's spine.

"Good morning, sleepyhead! I'm so glad you're finally awake! I was worried about you!" Trevor greeted.

Logan thought he should respond to Trevor, but he was terrified to. After all, this was the guy who used barbed wire to give him a facelift. Logan could care less how gentle Trevor sounded. He was a ticking time bomb that could detonate at any given moment.

"Say something, little bro. You're starting to scare me," Trevor remarked.

Logan cried anew. He was sick of feeling scared all the time, but at the same time, he couldn't be around Trevor and _not_ feel frightened. Just when he at long last felt _remotely _safe around Trevor, he would go and find some new way to torture him.

Logan _did_ want to die. At least that way, it would put an end to his torture. It would be an end, but it would be a welcome one at that. It wasn't even a matter of Logan not being able to take it. It was well past the point of Logan being able to take it.

However, Logan thought of all those who were waiting for him to come home to them. Kendall, James, Carlos, Katie, Mama Knight, Camille, Kelly, even Gustavo. Not to mention all of his friends back at The Palm Woods. Logan _wanted_ to find his way back to them. He just didn't know if that would ever be more than just a pipe dream.

In the unlikely event that Logan ever got out of this mess, would someone like Camille even love him and want to be with him? The fact of the matter was that Logan was now damaged goods. There were scars on his body that would never go away. He didn't even look like himself anymore. More than anything, he resembled a skeleton. There looked like there was literally nothing to him but skin and bones. That wasn't even getting into the countless years of therapy Logan would no doubt need to help him _cope with_ what happened; he knew he would _never_ forget what happened.

"My face hurts," Logan blurted out. Trevor wanted him to say something, and that was the only thing Logan could think of.

Trevor kissed the bandages on Logan's face. Logan tried not to flinch with Trevor's lips so close to his own. It was easier said than done though. Trevor probably figured that him kissing Logan's booboos would make them all better, but they did absolutely nothing. Of course, Logan knew better than to say that to Trevor's face.

"I know, but you'll face will heal…in time. For now though, do you feel like hitting the road again?" Trevor asked.

Logan nodded his head. He was losing his willpower. Every decision he made centered around being as agreeable as possible. Long gone were the days of Logan being disagreeable. Now all that Logan cared about was keeping himself out of trouble. The only thing that mattered was what made Trevor happy.

"I'm sorry everybody. I can't help you find me anymore. If you're going to find me, then you're going to have to do it on your own," Logan said to himself as a silent tear trickled down one of the many bandages plastered to his cheek.

To Be Continued…


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: This is only for entertainment purposes. Though I don't know how "entertaining" an angsty torture fic is, but whatever. **

**Doppelganger**

Jennifer Knight checked her cell phone, and saw that she had a voicemail message. That struck her as odd. Her phone was on. It had plenty of battery life. The vibrator was on. The volume was up. She didn't recall it ringing at all, so she was unsure when she would have missed a call.

"You have one unheard message," the automated message played.

"Mama Knight, it's Carlos. I'm at LAX right now. I'm flying to Austin, Texas. Don't try to stop me. By the time you make it to the airport, my flight will already have left. Don't worry either. My dad's with me, so you have nothing to worry about. Could you tell James and Kendall…on second thought, you don't have to tell them anything. Bye. Love ya," Carlos' voice said.

By the end of the voicemail, Mrs. Knight had tears in her eyes. Even though technically Logan and Carlos weren't her children, Jennifer loved them like they were her own. Her maternal instincts kicked in, and she couldn't help but feel like she had lost another one of her babies.

Something else was readily apparent to her too; Carlos must have gotten into a major fight with Kendall and/or James. Probably both from the way it sounded. Though Mrs. Knight didn't know what happened, she suspected that whatever fight they had led to Carlos leaving Los Angeles.

The fact that Carlos was with his police officer father was small comfort to Jennifer. She didn't know why Carlos was going to Austin. She didn't know what was going on. But if any harm were to come to Carlos…it was bad enough with Logan kidnapped and being tortured. If Carlos were to suffer a similar fate…

Rage replaced sadness for the time being. She was a woman on a mission. Mrs. Knight was heading back to Apartment 2J to ground Kendall and James for life. She had more than a few things she wanted, no she _needed_ to get off her chest in lieu of the most recent developments.

XXXXX

"James Diamond! Kendall Donald Knight! Living room! Now!" Mrs. Knight shouted at the top of her lungs.

It goes without saying that when a parent uses your middle name whilst yelling, you are in serious trouble. Kendall cringed. He had a pretty good idea what this was all about. His mother sounded far from happy.

Even though Mrs. Knight wasn't _James'_ mother, he was still just as terrified of her, if not more. James had a hard time saying no to his own mother, but Kendall's mom was just downright scary when she was mad.

The two boys were in no hurry to make it to the living room. Both of them had matching guilty expressions on their faces. It was small relief to know that they wouldn't have to face the wrath of Jennifer Knight alone.

"What did you say to Carlos? What did you do? Do you know he's on his way to Austin now probably because of you two?" Jennifer yelled.

This was news to both Kendall and James. They had figured Carlos was mad at them, but they just thought he went for a walk in the park to cool off. They had no idea he would book the next flight out of Los Angeles.

Neither of the boys knew that Carlos was with his father, and in spite of everything that had transpired between the three of them, that worried Kendall and James. They didn't very much like the idea of Carlos alone somewhere.

James looked to Kendall to explain for them, and vice versa. How _do _they even begin to attempt to explain the situation to a livid Mama Knight? Carlos leaving Los Angeles without so much as a word to anyone threw everything into perspective for them.

"Logan called Carlos," Kendall explained.

"He what?" Jennifer replied, genuinely surprised.

This only proved how out of the loop she was in all this. She didn't even know Logan had called Carlos. She didn't even know Carlos apparently got into a fight with Kendall and James. What _did_ she know? Did she even know _anything_ anymore?

"They didn't talk long, but long enough for Logan to hint at where he was," Kendall went on.

"Hint? Why didn't Logan just tell Carlos where he was?" Mrs. Knight asked, interrupting her son.

Kendall shook his head. It was the same question everyone had on their mind. It was pointless to dwell on it though; it was probably a question that wouldn't be answered anytime in the near future.

"We don't know, but that's probably why Carlos went to Austin. Anyways, after we found out Logan called Carlos, some things were said, and yeah. I guess that's why Carlos took off," Kendall stated.

"Things? What things were said? Kendall Donald Knight, don't make me repeat myself!" Kendall's mom exclaimed.

Kendall was filled with regret. He hung his head in shame. Now that he had some time to cool off, and let it all digest, he wished he could take back the horrible things he said to Carlos. They were only said in the heat of the moment. Kendall certainly never meant to make Carlos leave.

"James, what things were said? Did you say them too, or was it just Kendall?" Mrs. Knight demanded, shifting her attention to James.

"Just for the record, _I _didn't say anything awful to Carlos! Your son did!" James replied, ever quick to throw Kendall under the bus, thereby saving his own hide.

"You admitted to being jealous of Carlos!" Kendall fired back.

"So were you! Besides, at least I didn't call Carlos stupid!"

Mrs. Knight gasped. Kendall cringed. James covered his mouth with his hand. Too little too late. There was no taking back what had been said now.

"No, no, no. You didn't. Please tell me you didn't. Of all the things…how could you, Kendall?" Mrs. Knight responded.

There was no hiding the utter disappointment in his mother's voice. That alone really made it hit home. Kendall wanted to be the kind of son his mother could be proud of. There wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell that she would be proud of him for this.

"I was mad at Carlos, mom! Logan called him instead of me!" Kendall said, trying to justify his behavior even though he knew it couldn't be done.

"Why does it matter _who_ Logan called? I raised you better than this, Kendall. I don't care if he is with his father, Carlos could get hurt because of _you_! He left because of _you_! If he doesn't make it back to us in one piece, I'm going to hold _you_ personally responsible! I don't know how you can live with yourself. I don't know how you can sleep at night after what _you_ did!" Mrs. Knight said, tearing into her son.

Kendall was practically reduced to tears. His mother really wasn't holding back. She was definitely letting him have it. She was certainly laying the guilt on thick. Every child, no matter how old they get, desires to impress their parents. Kendall couldn't handle the complete disdain in his mother's voice as she spoke about him.

"You're grounded! Both of you! Until I say otherwise! The _only_ reasons you two are to leave the apartment is for school or band-related things, though I don't see how you'll have much of those to worry about with half the band gone now!" Mrs. Knight commented.

The selfish side of James didn't think it was fair that he was grounded too. What he did wasn't nearly as bad as what Kendall did. A part of James wanted to make the case that Mrs. Knight couldn't ground him since she wasn't his mother, but the rest of James knew that this was neither the time nor the place to bring that up.

Mrs. Knight headed to her bedroom. She was honestly afraid of what she might say or do if she remained around James and Kendall any longer. She couldn't stand to look at them for one more second. She didn't even recognize the two teenagers that stood before her anymore.

XXXXX

James didn't know if it was possible to make up for what he did to Carlos, but he was going to give it a shot anyways. As soon as James was alone, he dialed Carlos' number. The call went straight to voicemail, but that didn't deter James one bit.

"Hey Carlitos. It's me, James. Look man, I'm sorry for what I did. I was an idiot. I was jealous of you, and that was wrong. I was just being my usual selfish jerk of a friend. Actually, I guess I wasn't much of a friend at all, huh? I really am sorry about that though. I know you might not ever forgive me, but please come home where you belong. I miss my best bud. I don't like the idea of you being in another state where I can't…" James said, before he broke down and cried. "Where I can't protect you. I know you have your dad with you, but it's not the same. You know me. I have to see things in order to believe them. How can I know you're safe unless I see it for myself? I can't do that with you there and me here. Please be safe. I can't lose you too. If anything bad were to happen to you…just come home, alright?"

James couldn't see past the haze of tears. He drew his knees to his chest, and gently rocked himself back and forth. He let his tears fall freely. He couldn't believe he had screwed things up so badly. It would be incredibly easy for him to blame Kendall for all this. But deep down, James knew that he wasn't entirely without fault.

James couldn't help but feel worried by the fact that Carlos was with his police officer of a father rather then reassured by it. The way James saw it, that only put Carlos in _more_ danger. It was like Carlos was walking straight into the lion's den.

James felt completely powerless and utterly useless. His protective nature had kicked in, but what good would it do him now? Carlos was in Texas, and Logan was who knows where? James wanted to do something, _anything_, but he couldn't, especially now that he was grounded. He wouldn't have been grounded either if he never turned his back on Carlos in the first place. He'll never forget the crestfallen look in Carlos' big brown eyes when James betrayed Carlos.

XXXXX

Carlos' voice mailbox was filling up due to Kendall leaving messages as well. Whereas James' message was so long it almost got cut off, Kendall left Carlos several short messages. Part of the reason was because Kendall didn't know what to say, so he'd hang up even though he wanted to erase the message he had just sent.

"It's me. I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear from right now…" Kendall said before hanging up.

"I don't even know what to say to you right now. Heck, I don't even know if you'll listen. I wouldn't if I were you…"

"I never meant for this to happen, okay? You weren't supposed to take off."

"I'm…sorry. I think you know what I'm sorry for…"

"I never should have called you stupid. I know you're sensitive about that. It was wrong of me to say that. I'm sorry."

"As it turns out, I'm the stupid one. I'm supposed to be the leader. Some leader I am, huh? What a joke!"

"I know you and Logan are really close too. I just…there's nothing wrong with that. I don't even know why I did what I did. I guess I was jealous, but I had no reason to be. Logan and I are close too. Just not as close as the two of you apparently are…"

"I did it again. I can't help myself. I know that's no excuse, but there you have it."

"I know we're probably never going to be friends again, and I have no one to blame but myself. The truth of the matter though is that I don't deserve to even have a friend like you, so really, you're better off without me."

"Please be careful. I know you probably don't consider me a friend anymore, but I still care what happens to you. This might come as a shock to you, but I really don't want anything bad to happen to you."

"I…_love_…you, Los. You're like the little brother I never had. I know I don't always show it, but it's the truth. I know I shouldn't think the worst, but I'm so scared that I'll never see you again; that something bad is going to happen to you. If it does, it will be my fault! If anything bad is to happen to anybody, it should be me! I'm a horrible leader. I'm a horrible friend. I'm a horrible brother. I'm a horrible person."

Kendall had reached his breaking point. He couldn't stand to leave Carlos one more voicemail. His hands were shaking. He was weeping.

"You're not a horrible person," a small voice said.

Camille stood in the doorway to Kendall's room. Camille. Kendall's heart went out to her. She was Logan's on-again, off-again girlfriend. She was more than that though. She was a mutual friend of all four boys.

"You don't even know what I did," Kendall responded.

"We all make mistakes," Camille replied.

"Mistakes? What I made was no mistake! It was…I don't even know what it was, but I never should have made it!"

"You're being way too hard on yourself!"

"And you're not being hard enough on me!"

Camille sat on the bed next to Kendall, who immediately distanced himself from her, scooting as far away from her as his bed would allow. Camille and Logan were like a package deal. Kendall couldn't look at Camille and _not_ think about Logan.

"I failed Logan. I failed Carlos. I failed my mom. Carlos left because of me. He's in Austin following a lead on Logan, but what if he gets hurt? Or worse? All because of me and my stupid jealousy!" Kendall commented.

"A lead? What lead? Jealousy? I don't understand," Camille responded.

Camille scooted over so that she was sitting right next to Kendall. As soon as that happened though, Kendall got up off his bed, and stood before Camille instead. He slowly backed away from her though even then.

"I don't want to talk about it again," Kendall stated.

"Don't do that, Kendall. Don't shut me out. No one tells me anything anymore! I have just as much of a right as anyone else to know what's going on!" Camille said, raising her voice, tears in her eyes.

"What's there to know? Everything's shot to Hell. End of story."

Camille slapped Kendall. But while her slaps to Logan were usually accompanied by a kiss, there was no kiss awaiting Kendall. This slap wasn't meant to be affectionate. Kendall and Camille both knew this.

"Ever since Logan's been missing, I haven't booked a single role. I haven't slept at night. I hardly eat or drink or anything because I can barely keep anything down. If I don't land a role soon, I'm going to be kicked out of The Palm Woods, so if Logan ever does come back, I might not even be here. The thought alone kills me. I feel like a part of me is missing. I feel incomplete without him. I feel like he's my better half." Camille confessed.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" Kendall retorted.

"I don't want you to _do_ anything, Kendall except be there for me. You're my friend, or at least you're supposed to be. Friends don't keep friends in the dark. Friends stand by each other's side in good times and bad."

"So that makes me a crappy friend too. I get it."

Camille was quickly growing frustrated with Kendall. He usually wasn't this self-deprecating. She just wanted to know what he knew. She just wanted to know what was going on. Was that so much to ask for? She just wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be okay, or at the very least say _something_ reassuring.

"You know what? Forget I even asked," Camille said.

"Camille, wait. Logan called Carlos. He told him he was in Austin, Texas. James and I got mad at Carlos because we were jealous that Logan called him and not us, so Carlos took off, and boarded a flight to Austin. His dad is with him, but I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. It could go either way," Kendall replied. "Still think I'm not a horrible person?"

Camille decided to let her actions speak for themselves. She hugged Kendall enthusiastically. Logan was alive. At least he was when he called Carlos. Not only that, but they knew where he was; or at least where he was when he called Carlos. Still, Camille was over the moon. This was the best news she had heard in weeks.

"Carlos is going to find Logan. I just know it," Camille said.

To Be Continued…


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I own just as much as I did in my last Disclaimer. I know, I know. Shocker!**

**Doppelganger**

Officer Garcia and his son were at the same hospital where Trevor murdered Jolyn. By now, they had positively identified Jolyn's body. They had also analyzed the epithelials underneath her fingernails.

"The epithelials under her fingernails belong to a Trevor Johnson," Detective Morgan stated.

As it turned out, Jolyn, even through her death, still managed to do her part when it came to bringing Trevor to justice. Her raking her fingernails against his skin seemed to have paid off.

"And this nurse, this Jolyn Patterson, one of the patients she was caring for before she met her untimely death was Lucas. Oddly enough, there was no last name. But it gets even weirder. Shortly after Jolyn's body was discovered, this Lucas vanished from the hospital. Eyewitnesses say that Trevor broke him out of the hospital," Detective Morgan said.

Carlos' heart skipped a beat. He remembered when he watched the torture video with James that Logan's kidnapper called him Lucas. One of the patients Jolyn was in charge of was named Lucas. No last name. Maybe Logan was here in this very hospital. Carlos swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat. But that would mean that the person who murdered Jolyn was the person who kidnapped Logan.

"His name's not Lucas, it's Logan! Logan Mitchell!" Carlos exclaimed, speaking up.

Officer Garcia looked at his son in disbelief. He had been hoping for a break in Logan's kidnapping case, but could this really be it? It almost seemed too good to be true.

"Are you sure?" Carlos' dad asked his son.

"Yes, Papi! It all makes sense! I saw Logan's torture video! His kidnapper called him Lucas! One of Jolyn's patients was named Lucas! Logan told me he was in Austin! A murder happened at a hospital in Austin! They're all connected! I just know it!" Carlos replied, feeling hopeful once more.

Officer Garcia knew that Logan was in danger, but if his kidnapper was now murdering innocent people, then he was in more danger than even they realized. But that still begged the question: why did Trevor kill Jolyn? Did she somehow knew who he was?

"There's something else you should know," Detetcive Morgan said. "This Trevor Johnson was responsible for the death of his father, and is believed to be responsible for the disappearance of his younger brother, Lucas, ten years ago. He's been on the run ever since, and no one has been able to apprehend him since then."

"I'm sorry. _What_ did you say Trevor's brother's name was?" Officer Garcia asked.

"Lucas."

Carlos and his father traded knowing looks. They nodded their head once at one another.

"Trevor's got the wrong guy! He thinks he kidnapped his brother, Lucas, but really he has our Logan!" Carlos commented.

Detective Morgan was one of the most skeptical individuals on the force. In his line of work, he couldn't afford to be gullible. He had a doubtful expression on his face.

"I'd hate to be a buzz kill, but something still doesn't quite add up. Even if what you said is true, and Trevor thinks he's kidnapped his own brother, Lucas would be in his late twenties by now. How old is Logan?" Detective Morgan inquired.

"Seventeen," Officer Garcia answered.

Detective Morgan was momentarily shocked by the answer he had just received. That was the age at which Lucas first went missing. He kept his face masterfully shock free.

"Besides, do you know how many people are named Lucas? In Texas alone, I bet there are hundreds, if not thousands!" Detective Morgan remarked.

Carlos was on the verge of tears. On the one hand, he was happy that they were getting ever closer to finding Logan. On the other hand, he was more afraid for Logan now than ever before, now that he realizes Trevor is even more dangerous than they thought. Someone who murders their own father is _not_ someone that is safe to be around, and Logan is with this guy!

"You're wrong! You _have_ to be! Why can't you let us enjoy this small victory? Why don't you want us to find Logan?" Carlos screamed at Detective Morgan, before his knees gave out on him, and he sank to the floor in tears.

Officer Garcia was quickly at his son's side, embracing him, and trying to quiet him down, whispering encouraging, soothing things in his son's ears. He reached into his pocket, finding his wallet. He pulled out a recent picture of Logan, and handed it to Detective Morgan.

"Here's a picture of Logan. Make copies of these, and put them up on flyers all over Austin, all over Texas even. Maybe someone has seen him. Have you put flyers with Trevor's face up as well?" Officer Garcia asked.

"Of course! I'll give you two some privacy," Detective Morgan said as he left the officer and his son.

Another police officer left the room as well to go make a phone call.

"Hello?" the voice of a mystery man answered.

"It's me. We've got a problem. There's this police officer and his hockey-helmet-wearing son at the hospital. They're onto you," the police officer stated.

Big Time Rush may not be a household name yet, but this mystery man knew who they were. He also knew which member tended to wear a hockey helmet, Carlos Garcia. He smiled sinisterly. Carlos and Logan were no doubt best friends. Carlos showing up in Austin could work out to his advantage.

"What do you want me to do? Want me to nab the boy?" the police officer asked.

"But of course. Only if you can separate him from his police officer father though," the mystery man replied.

"Understood."

XXXXX

The mole, Officer Adams, reentered the room where Carlos and his father were. He was the reason Trevor was even able to come back to Austin in the first place. With Officer Adams on the force, he could make sure they didn't pick up on Trevor's whereabouts. It was Officer Adams that had helped Trevor evade police custody for nearly a decade.

"For what it's worth, Carlos, I believe you," Officer Adams said.

Carlos smiled at the police officer. He was glad to hear that _someone_ believed him. However, something struck Carlos' dad as odd. How did that police officer know Carlos' name? Carlos hadn't been introduced to him yet. He snaked a protective arm around his son's shoulders, pulling him close to his body.

"How do you know my son's name?" Officer Garcia questioned.

"He's a part of Big Time Rush. How else?" Officer Adams responded.

Officer Adams could sense that Carlos' dad was suspicious of him. He had many years to practice his craft, and outwardly, he remained unfazed. Due to the way that Officer Garcia was holding his son close, separating the two might be more difficult than he originally thought.

"What was that call you had to take about? What could possibly be so important?" Officer Garcia asked.

"With all due respect, _officer_, that's really none of your business. In fact, why don't you go back to Michigan or Minnesota or wherever the heck you came from? We have things under control here," Officer Adams responded.

Carlos' dad bolted to his feet. He really didn't like the way this police officer was talking to him. Carlos jumped to his feet also, getting in between the two.

"Papi, chill out!" Carlos begged.

"You have things under control? Really? Right, which is why a murderer has been walking the streets for _ten _years! Yeah! You really have things under control! Bravo!" Officer Garcia remarked sarcastically.

"Sometimes, the bad guys get away. It happens. You mean to tell me that you've put every single criminal in Michigan behind bars? I think not!" Officer Adams retorted.

Carlos tugged on his father's arm. He could see his dad's face start to get red. He noticed how his nostrils were flaring; how his hands clenched into fists.

"Dad, please! Walk away," Carlos pleaded.

As the two of them passed Officer Adams, he reached out, and grabbed Carlos by the wrist.

"Carlos, if you ever want to talk…" he started to say, but he never got to finish.

Officer Garcia shoved Officer Adams harshly, knocking him on his butt. Officer Garcia's eyes were ablaze with fury. His sensitivity training lessons really hadn't paid off. He was still as impulsive and hot-tempered as ever.

"Don't you _ever_ touch my son again! Do I make myself clear?" Officer Garcia roared.

He really didn't like this guy; this Officer Adams. Officer Garcia just got a really bad feeling about him. Maybe if Logan hadn't been kidnapped, Officer Garcia wouldn't have behaved this way, but because Logan had been kidnapped, _especially_ because Logan had been kidnapped, Carlos' dad wasn't going to take any chances.

Officer Adams chuckled.

"I could have you arrested for assaulting a police officer," he said to Carlos' dad.

"And I could have you arrested for assaulting my son!" Officer Garcia retaliated.

"Good luck making those charges stick! You're on _my_ turf now!"

"Dad! Come on! Let's go!" Carlos exclaimed.

XXXXX

Carlos and his dad were sitting in their rental car. Carlos was slightly terrified of his father. He had never seen him like this before. He couldn't even remember a time when he saw his dad ever get mad. Certainly not _this_ mad.

"What's gotten into you?" Carlos asked.

"Stay away from that police officer!" Officer Garcia ordered.

"Dad, I…"

"Promise me, Carlos! Promise me that you'll stay away from him!"

"Okay, okay. I promise."

Officer Garcia strapped on his seat belt, and turned on the ignition.

"Put on your seat belt, son," he instructed.

"Wait. Where are we going?" Carlos asked.

"Away from here."

Just then, there was a knock on the driver's side window of their rental car. Detective Morgan was on the other side of the glass. He gestured for Officer Garcia to roll down his window.

"We just got a call from a gas station clerk. Trevor was spotted at a gas station near the Texas/Louisiana border," Detective Morgan said.

Officer Garcia put the car in reverse, but before he could back out, he noticed that Detective Morgan was flanked by several police officers, one of which was Officer Adams.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Officer Garcia, you are under arrest for the assault of a police officer. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights I have just read to you?" Detective Morgan asked.

"Carlos, it's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay," Officer Garcia said, pulling his son into a tight hug.

"Please step out of the vehicle," Detective Morgan said.

Officer Garcia reluctantly did as he was asked. He didn't want to make things any worse than they already were. Apparently, Officer Adams wasn't kidding when he threatened to have him arrested for assaulting a police officer. However, Officer Garcia didn't care about any of that right now. All that mattered to him was that Carlos would now be without him; he would be alone.

Of course, Officer Adams was the one to slap the handcuffs on Carlos' dad. He took extreme pleasure in doing so too. He couldn't stop smiling the whole time.

"What are you doing? You can't arrest my father! Dad! Dad!" Carlos screamed as he clumsily got out of the car. He tried to run to his father, but Officer Adams held him back.

"I told you not to touch my son!" Officer Garcia yelled, squirming against his restraints.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of him," Officer Adams replied, smirking.

Carlos was helpless as he watched his dad get ushered into the back seat of a squad car. Tears streamed down his face. What was he going to do now? They had a new lead when it came to Logan's whereabouts, but what good would that do Carlos now? He didn't even have his learner's permit! Plus, now he didn't even have his dad!

Carlos wanted to scream. He wanted to tell someone what had happened, but who could he tell? He couldn't tell James and Kendall after what they did to him. He didn't have the heart to tell his own mother. He wasn't even sure he had the heart to tell Mama Knight. This had to be some sort of karma. This is what he got for sneaking off without telling anyone.

"It's okay, Carlos. It's going to be okay. You can stay with me until your dad is released," Officer Adams said.

To Be Continued…


End file.
